m 





Glass c ) 

Book U (h 




■ 



'tff£> 



Issued August 31, 1916. 

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 

■ 

A. D. MELVIN, Chief of Bureau. 



SPECIAL REPORT 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



Drs. ATKINSON, DICKSON, HARBAUGH, HICKMAN, LAW, 

LOWE, MOHLER, MURRAY, PEARSON, 

RANSOM, and TRUMBOWER. 



REVISED EDITION, 1916. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1916. 



SF<?6l 

>He 



Department of Agriculture, 

Washington, March 21, 1916. 
This volume is a revision of the Special Report on Diseases of 
Cattle, prepared in compliance with House Concurrent Resolution 
No. 14, passed February 3, 1916, as follows : 

Resolved by the House of Representatives {the Seriate concurring), That 
there be printed and bound in cloth one hundred thousand copies of the Special 
Report on Diseases of Cattle, the same to be first revised and brought to date, 
under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture, seventy thousand copies 
for the use of the House of Representatives and thirty thousand copies for use 
of the Senate. 

Since its original publication by the Department in 1892, several 
editions have been authorized by Congress. It was reprinted in 
1896, and revised and reprinted in 1901, 1908, and 1912. In accord- 
ance with the above-mentioned resolution it again has been revised 
so as to embody the latest practical development of knowledge of 
the subject. 

D. F. Houston, 

jSecreta?*y. 

D. Of D. 
JAN 19 1917 



J* 

I 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Administration of medicines. By Leonard Pearson 7 

Diseases of the digestive organs. By A. J. Murray 12 

Poisons and poisoning. By V. T. Atkinson 51 

Diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and lymphatics. By W. II. Harbaugh. . 71 
Noncontagious diseases of the organs of respiration. By William Herbert 

Lowe 85 

Diseases of the nervous system. By W. H. Harbaugh 99 

Diseases of the urinary organs. By James Law Ill 

Diseases of the generative organs. By James Law 145 

Diseases following parturition. By James Law 212 

Diseases of young calves. By James Law 245 

Bones: Diseases and accidents. By V. T. Atkinson 262 

Surgical operations. By William Dickson and William Herbert Lowe 287 

Tumors affecting cattle. By John R. Mohler 301 

Diseases of the skin. By M. R. Trumbower 318 

Diseases of the foot. By M. R. Trumbower 333 

Diseases of the eye and its appendages. By M. R. Trumbower 338 

Diseases of the ear. By M. R. Trumbower 353 

Infectious diseases of cattle. Revised by John R. Mohler 356 

The animal parasites of cattle. By B . H. Ransom 510 

Mycotic stomatitis of cattle. By John R. Mohler 537 

Index 543 

3 



ADDITIONAL COPIES 

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM 

THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

AT 

$1.00 PER COPY 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PLATES. 

1*9 £T6. 

Plate I. Position of the first stomach (rumen or paunch) 4g 

II. Stomachs of ruminants 4$ 

III. Instruments used in treating diseases of digestive organs 48 

IV. Microscopic anatomy of the liver 4g 

V. Ergot in hay 4g 

VI. Ergotism ^ 

VII. Diagram of the circulation of the blood • 84 

VIII. Position of the lung gg 

IX. Kidney and male generative ~nd urinary organs 142 

X. Microscopic anatomy of the kidney 142 

XI. Calculi of kidney and bladder 142 

XII. Fetal calf within its membranes 208 

XIII. Pregnant uterus with cotyledons 208 

XIV. Vessels of umbilical cord oQg 

XV. Normal position of calf in utero 208 

XVI. Abnormal positions of calf in utero 208 

XVII. Abnormal positions of calf in utero 208 

XVIII. Abnormal positions of calf in utero; surgical instruments and 



sutures. 



208 



XIX. Monstrosities oq8 

XX. Instruments used in difficult labor 208 

XXI. Instruments used in difficult labor 208 

XXII. Supports for prolapsed uterus 244 

XXIII. Supports for prolapsed uterus 244 

XXIV. Instruments used in diseases following parturition 244 

XXV. Skeleton of the cow 280 

XXVI. Devices for casting cattle 300 

XXVII. Surgical instruments and sutures 300 

XXVIII. Various bacteria which produce disease in cattle 358 

XXIX. Upper or dorsal surface of the lungs of the ox 368 

XXX. Broncho-pneumonia 3gg 

XXXI. Contagious pleuro-pneumonia 368 

XXXII. Contagious pleuro-pneumonia 368 

XXXIII. Foot-and-mouth disease 384 

XXXIV. Tuberculosis of the lungs of cattle 416 

XXXV. Tuberculosis of the liver 426 

XXXVI. Tuberculosis of lymph gland and of omentum (caul) 416 

XXXVII. Fig. 1.— Tuberculosis of sirloin and porterhouse cuts of beef. Fig. 

2.— Tuberculosis of pleura of cow, so-called "pearly disease " . . . 41G 

XXXVIII. Tuberculosis of cow's udder 416 

XXXIX. Actinomycosis 448 

5 



6 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

Plate XL. Actinomycosis of the jaw 448 

XLI. Actinomycosis of the lungs 448 

XLII. Section of muscle from a blackleg swelling 464 

XLIII. Necrotic stomatitis (calf diphtheria) 464 

XLIV. Normal spleen and spleen affected by Texas fever 504 

XLV. Texas fever 504 

XLVI. The cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus), the carrier of Texas fever. 504 

XLVII. The cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus) 504 

XLVIII. Portion of a steer's hide showing the Texas fever tick (Margaropus 

annulatus) 504 

XLIX. Fig. 1.— Tick-infested steer. Fig. 2.— Dipping cattle to kill ticks. 504 
L. Map of the United States showing region infected with Texas fever 

of cattle 504 

TEXT FIGURES. 

Fig. 1. Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, requiring 

four and one-half months 489 

2. Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, requiring 

eight months 491 

3. Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, requiring 

four months, with new pasture 492 

4. Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, feed-lot or 

soiling method 493 

5. Pail spraying pump for small herds 495 

6. Horn fly (Hsematobia serrata) in resting position 512 

7. Homilies (Hsematobia lerrata) on cow horn 513 

8. Buffalo gnat 513 

9. Screw worm (larva of Chrysomyia macellaria) 514 

10. Screw-worm fly (Chrysomyia macellaria) 514 

11. The warble fly (Hypoderma lineata) 515 

12. Short-nosed blue louse (Hsematopinus eurysternus) of cattle 518 

13. Long-nosed blue louse (Hsematopinus vituli) of cattle 518 

14. Red louse ( Trichodectes scalaris) of cattle: 519 

15. Egg of short-nosed blue louse (Hsematopinus eurysternus) attached to a 

hair 519 

16. Mite which causes psoroptic scab of sheep 520 

17. Portion of the wall of the first stomach with conical flukes (Paramphis- 

tomum cervi) attached 525 

18. Twisted stomach worms (Hsemonchus contortus) 525 

19. Twisted stomach worms (Hsemonchus contortus) 526 

20. Embryo of twisted stomach worm (Hsemonchus contortus) coiled on tip 

of grass blade 527 

21. A drenching tube made from an ordinary tin funnel, a piece of rubber 

hose, and a piece of brass pipe 527 

22. Piece of lining of fourth stomach showing cysts of the encysted stomach 

worm (Ostertagia ostertagi) 528 

23 . A tapeworm ( Moniezia planissima) which infests cattle 529 

24. The common liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) 531 

25. The large American fluke (Fusciola magna) 531 

26. Portion of grass stalk bearing three encysted cercarise of the common 

liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) 532 

27. Hydatids (Echinococcus granulosus) in portion of hog's liver 533 

28. Thin-necked bladder worm (Tsenia hydatigena) from abdominal cavity 

of a steer 534 

29. Lung worms (Dictyocaulus viviparus) of cattle 535 



SPECIAL REPORT 

ON 

DISEASES OF CATTLE 



ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES. 

By Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D. 

Medicines may be administered to cattle in many ways. The chan- 
nel and method of administration depend on whether a general or 
local effect is desired, the condition of the animal, and the nature of 
the medicine that is to be given. The easiest method, and therefore 
the most common, is to give ordinary remedies by the mouth with 
the food, with drink, or separately. There are, however, some condi- 
tions in which medicines administered in this way will not act 
promptly enough, or wherein a desired effect of the medicine on a 
distant part of the body is wholly lacking unless it is applied in some 
other way. 

The various methods of administering medicines to cattle will be 
considered below. 

By the mouth. — The simplest way to give medicines by the mouth 
is to mix them with the food or water. This can be done when the 
medicine is in the form of a powder or fluid, if but a small quantity 
is to be given, if it does not have a taste that is disagreeable to the 
animal and is not so irritant as to injure the lining membranes of the 
mouth and throat. 

The usual method of administering bulky or unpalatable doses is to 
mix them with a fluid vehicle, such as water, milk, molasses, or beer, 
and give from a bottle. A dose given in this way is known as a 
" drench." In administering a drench the head of the animal should 
be elevated a little by an assistant. This is best accomplished when 
standing on the left side of the cow's head and by grasping the nose 
with the thumb and fingers of the right hand inserted in the nostrils ; 
with the left hand beneath the chin the head is further raised and 
supported. If the animal is unruly, it may be tied in a stall or placed 
in a stanchion. The medicine can now be poured into the mouth by 
inserting the neck of the bottle between the lips on the right side. 
Care must be taken to avoid getting the bottle between the back teeth. 

7 



8 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

The mouth of the bottle should be inserted as far as the middle of 
the tongue and the contents poured slowly. If the cow coughs, the 
head must at once be lowered to permit the fluid to escape from the 
larynx. If medicine is given during coughing, some of the dose may 
pass down the windpipe to the lungs and cause a severe or a fatal 
pneumonia. This is especially to be guarded against when the 
throat is partly paralyzed or insensitive, as in parturient paresis 
(milk fever). In this disease it has often happened that drenches 
have been poured into the lungs, thus killing the cow. 

The quantity of fluid to be given in a drench depends upon the 
effect desired and the nature of the medicine. In impactions of 
the stomach very large quantities of fluid may be given — as much as 
a gallon or several gallons at a time. Usually, however, it is not 
customary or desirable to give more than from 1 to 2 quarts at a dose, 
and not more than a pint unless it is necessary on account of the 
irritant quality of the drug that has to be shielded with a large 
quantity of the vehicle. 

Soluble medicines should be completely dissolved before they are 
given; insoluble ones should be finely divided by powdering or by 
shaking, and should be well agitated and mixed immediately before 
they are given. In the latter case a menstruum with considerable 
body, such as molasses or flaxseed tea or milk, will help to hold solids 
or oils in suspension until swallowed. 

Balls are large pills adapted for the larger animals. Powders or 
gums are sometimes mixed with an adhesive substance and rolled 
into balls for the purpose of convenience of administration. Balls 
are not used so much and are not so well adapted to the medication 
of cattle as of horses. The process of solution is slower in the paunch 
of a cow than in the stomach of a horse; if the cow is so sick as 
to have stopped ruminating, a ball may get covered up and lost 
in the mass of material in the paunch and so lie for days, producing 
no effect whatever. 

Capsules are shells or envelopes made of soluble gelatin in which 
powders or liquids may be inclosed. Capsules and balls are adminis- 
tered by being placed on the tongue well back in the mouth while 
the tongue is drawn forward and the mouth is held open by a block 
of wood between the back teeth. The ball should be dropped, the 
tongue released, and the block removed as nearly simultaneously as 
possible, so that the backward carriage of the tongue will throw the 
ball into the throat and lead to its being swallowed. In introducing 
the ball care must be taken to avoid having the hand cut or crushed. 
After a little experience it is possible to do away with the block of 
wood. 

By the stomach. — Medicines are introduced directly into the first 
stomach by the use of an esophageal tube or through the cannula of a 



ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES. 9 

trocar passed into the paunch through the side. This method is used 
in the treatment of diseases of digestion. 

By the rectum. — Medicines are usually administered by the rec- 
tum for the purpose of controlling the bowels and for the treatment 
of local diseases. Sometimes, however, medicines that have a gen- 
eral effect are given in this way when, for any reason, it is not possi- 
ble or convenient to give them through the mouth. Only drugs that 
are readily absorbed should be given per rectum for a general effect 
and in somewhat larger dose or more frequently than when given by 
the mouth. Such stimulants as ether, alcohol, or the aromatic spirits 
of ammonia, diluted with from four to six times their bulk of warm 
water, may be used in this way. 

Rectal injections, or enemata, are used in the treatment of consti- 
pation. If it is the purpose of the injection to soften hardened fecal 
masses, the water should be comfortably warm and may have a 
little clean soap in it. If it is the purpose of the injection to stimu- 
late sluggish bowels to contraction, the water may be cold. 

In giving rectal injections a rectal syringe may be used, or, better, 
a piece of one-half to three-quarter inch rubber hose 5 feet long with 
a tin funnel attached to one end. The hose is soaped or oiled and 
introduced slowly and gently into the rectum 2 or 3 feet. The fluid 
is then slowly poured into the funnel and allowed to gravitate into 
the rectum. The same apparatus may be used for feeding by the 
rectum. 

By the vagina. — Medicines are inserted into the vagina, and 
through the vagina into the womb, in a manner similar to that of 
rectal administration. Most of the medication made use of in this 
way is for the local treatment of these organs. Following calving, 
during outbreaks of abortion, and in an infectious disease of the 
vagina, such injections become necessary. 

By the udder. — Injections into the udder are now regularly made 
in the treatment of parturient paresis (milk fever). For this pur- 
pose a 1 per cent solution of iodid of potassium is commonly employed, 
although some other solutions and oxygen gas are also used. In mak- 
ing this injection so many precautions are necessary in relation to 
the sterilization of the apparatus and the teats and skin that this 
work should be left to a skilled veterinarian. The introduction of 
even a minute quantity of infectious dirt may cause the loss of the 
udder. For making this injection one may use one of the prepared 
sets of apparatus or a milking tube and funnel connected by a piece 
of small rubber hose. The apparatus should be boiled and kept 
wrapped in a clean towel until needed. The udder and teats and 
the hands of the operator must be well disinfected, and the solution 
must be freshly made with recently boiled water kept in a sterile 
bottle. The udder should be emptied of milk before the injection is 



10 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

made. After all these precautions have been observed the milking 
tube may be inserted and through it one-half pint of solution intro- 
duced by gravity air pressure or by syringe. There is practically 
no danger in this mode of treatment if it is properly carried out. 

Injections into the udder are sometimes made in the treatment of 
garget, but so far with indifferent success. 

By the nostrils. — An animal may be caused to inhale medicine 
in the form of gas or vapor or to snuff up a fine powder. Sometimes, 
for the purpose of local treatment, fluids are injected into the nose. 

A medicine inhaled may have either a local or a general effect. 

Medicated steam, carrying the volatile products of compound 
cresol solution, carbolic acid, balsam of Peru, compound tincture of 
benzoin, tincture of iodin, etc., may be liberated beneath the nostrils 
of a cow so that she must inhale these soothing vapors; but such 
treatment is not so common for cattle as for horses. In producing 
general anesthesia, or insensibility to pain, the vapor of chloroform 
or ether is administered by the nostrils. As a preliminary to this it 
is necessary to cast and confine the animal. Great care is necessary 
to avoid complete stoppage of the heart or breathing. 

By the trachea. — Medicines are injected into the trachea, or wind- 
pipe, in the treatment of some forms of diseases of the lungs, and 
especially in that form of bronchitis or pneumonia that is caused by 
lungworms. For this injection a large hypodermic syringe, fitted 
with a very thick, strong needle, is used. The needle is to be inserted 
about the middle of the neck and between the cartilaginous rings of 
the trachea. 

By the skin. — Although a number of drugs, notably mercury, are 
so readily absorbed by the skin of cattle as to render poisoning easy, 
medicines are not given in this way for their general or constitutional 
but only for their local effect. 

Diseases of the skin and superficial parasites are treated or de- 
stroyed by applications in the forms of washes, ointments, dips, and 
powders. Liniments and lotions are applied to the skin for the relief 
of some near-lying part, such as a muscle, tendon, or joint. Blisters 
are applied to the skin for the purpose of obtaining the effect of 
counterirritation upon a neighboring region or organ. Cold water 
may be applied to the skin to reduce the temperature and to diminish 
congestion or inflammation in a superficial area or to reduce the 
temperature of the whole body. High fever and heat strokes are 
treated in this way. 

By the tissue beneath the skin. — Hypodermic or subcutaneous 
injections are often made for the purpose of introducing a drug, 
reagent, or vaccine directly into the connecting tissue beneath the 
skin. Introduced in this way, the substance is quickly absorbed, 



ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES. 11 

none of it is lost, and its whole effect is obtained, often within a few 
minutes. 

There are numerous precautions necessary in making a subcutane- 
ous injection, most of which have to do with cleansing and steriliza- 
tion. It is also important to select a proper site for the injection, so 
that blood vessels, joints, and superficial nerves, organs, or cavities 
may all be avoided. With due regard for the necessary precautions, 
there is practically no danger in such an injection, but it should be 
attempted only by those who are able to carry it through in a surgi- 
cally clean way. Only certain drugs can be given subcutaneously, 
and dosage must be accurately graduated. 

By the veins. — Certain medicines act most promptly and surely 
when introduced directly into the blood by injecting them into a vein, 
usually the jugular. Some vaccines and antitoxins are administered 
in this way. Intravenous injection should be practiced only by 
experienced veterinarians. 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 

By A. J. Murray, M. R. C. V. S. 
[Revised by R. W. Hickman, V. M. D.] 

CHARACTER OF FEEDS AND FEEDING. 

Diseases of the digestive organs are very common among cattle, 
and may often be traced to defects in feeding. The first three stom- 
achs of the larger ruminants hold the feed for a long time, during 
which period it is subjected to macerating, mixing, and straining 
processes in preparation for entrance into the fourth or true stomach. 
The straining is accomplished through the medium of the manyplies 
or book, while the paunch, or rumen, with its adjunct, the waterbag, 
is concerned in the macerating, kneading, and mixing, as well as in 
regurgitation for rumination or the chewing of the cud. The action 
of the first three stomachs is merely preparatory to digestion. Thus 
it would seem that as a result of their complex anatomical and func- 
tional arrangement the feed of the ox, when of good quality and 
wholesome, is in the most favorable condition possible for the diges- 
tive process when it reaches the fourth stomach, where true diges- 
tion first takes place. The location and arrangement of the stomachs 
are shown in Plates I and II. 

If the feed is of improper character, or is so given that it can not 
be cared for by the animal in a normal way, false fermentations 
arise, causing indigestion, and possibly, later, organic disease. In 
feeding cattle there are a number of important considerations apart 
from the economy of the ration, and some of these are noted below. 

Feeds must not be damaged by exposure to the weather, by frost, 
by molds, or by deleterious fermentations. 

Damaged feeds retard or prevent digestion, and sometimes they 
contain or cause to be generated substances that irritate the digestive 
tract, or are distinctly poisonous to the animal. For example, hay 
that was rained on severely during curing has not only lost a part of 
its nutritive value through a washing-out process, but what remains 
is not so readily available as in good hay. Roots that have been 
frozen are likely to irritate and injure the digestive tract. Grass 
eaten with frost on it may cause severe indigestion. All moldy feeds 
are not injurious, for some molds appear to have no influence on 
the process of digestion, but those of other species may not only 
retard digestion and cause local injury to the digestive organs, but 
may cause general poisoning of a severe and fatal type. 
12 



DISEASES OP THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 13 

The following molds have been shown (Dammann) to be danger- 
ous in respect to the production of the morbid conditions enumer- 
ated: 

Tilletia caries grows chiefly in wheat and may be found with the 
grain, thus appearing in the bran or meal. It causes paralysis of the 
throat and spinal cord and irritation of the digestive tract. The 
rusts, such as Puccinia graminis, P. straminis, P. Coronata, and P. 
arundinacea, cause colic and diarrhea, and in some cases partial 
paralysis of the throat. The rusts that occur on clovers, beans, and 
peas cause very severe irritation of the lining membrane of the mouth 
and throat, resulting sometimes in gangrene of this tissue. 

Polydesmus exitans grows on the leaves of rape and turnips, ap- 
pearing in early summer. This fungus is very irritating to the 
mouths and feet of cattle, causing severe inflammation and the for- 
mation of a false membrane. In some instances this condition has 
been mistaken for foot-and-mouth disease, but it can be differentiated 
by the absence of the blister that is characteristic of that disease 
and by the further fact that it is nontransmissible. 

Polytrincium trifolii, which grows on clover, causing it to become 
black, causes severe irritation of the stomach and intestines of cattle 
feeding upon it. 

Feeds must not contain too large a proportion of woody fiber or 
of indigestible substances. If the dry matter ingested or the bulk 
of the feed is very great on account of the small proportion of 
digestible matter, it is impossible for the great mass to be moistened 
properly with and attacked by the digestive juices. In consequence 
of this, abnormal fermentations arise, causing indigestion and irri- 
tation of the digestive organs. On the other hand, a ration too con- 
centrated, and especially too rich in protein, is not suitable, because, 
after a meal, the animal must have a certain feeling of fullness in 
order to be comfortable and quiet, and the digestive organs require a 
relatively large volume of contents to fill them to the point where 
secretion is properly stimulated and their activity is most efficient. 
If too much protein is in the ration there is a waste of expensive 
feed, and the tendency is for the animal to become thin. It is evi- 
dent that a cow can not thrive on concentrated feeds alone, even 
though these contain in assimilable form all the nutritive materials 
needed for perfect support. It is because bulk is necessary that the 
standard of about 25 pounds of dry matter per cow per day has 
been reached by experimenters. There is no objection to feeding 
grain or meal separately to a cow, provided enough bulky feed is 
fed at another time in the day to keep the digestive tract sufficiently 
distended. 

In changing the ration, and especially in making radical changes, 
as at the beginning and the end of the pasturing season, the change 



14 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

should be made gradually, so that the digestive organs may accom- 
modate themselves to it. After the digestive organs and juices have 
from long practice become adjusted to the digestion of a certain feed, 
which is then suddenly withheld and another of quite different char- 
acter and properties is substituted, the second feed is not well di- 
gested ; it may even irritate the digestive canal. It is often observed 
that cattle lose from 25 to 100 pounds when turned on pasture from 
dry stable feed. This loss can readily be prevented by not shocking 
the digestive organs by a sudden change of diet. 

Regularity in feeding has much to do with the utilization of the 
ration, and gross irregularity may cause indigestion and serious 
disease. 

Water for live stock should be as free from contamination and as 
nearly pure as that used for household purposes. When practicable 
it is well to warm the water in the winter to about 50° F. and allow 
cattle to drink often. 

DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. 

WOUNDS AND CONTUSIONS OF THE LIPS, AND SNAKE BITE. 

The lips may become inflamed from contusions, which are some- 
times produced by a blow from the horns of another animal, or, in the 
case of working oxen, by a blow from the driver. While cattle are 
grazing, more especially when they are in woods, they may be bitten 
in the lips by insects or serpents. 

Symptoms. — As a result of a contusion the lips become thick and 
swollen, and if treatment is neglected the swelling may become hard 
and indurated, or an abscess may form. This condition renders it 
difficult for the animal to get food into its mouth, on account of the 
lips having lost their natural flexibility. In such cases an ox will use 
his tongue more in the prehension of food to make up for the inca- 
pacity of the lips. In cases of snake bite the swelling is soft or puffy 
and its limits are not well defined. 

Treatment. — When we have to deal with a bruise, the affected part 
should be bathed with hot water two or three times daily. In recent 
cases no other treatment will be required, but if the swelling is not 
recent and has become hard or indurated, then the swollen part 
should be treated each day by painting it with tincture of iodin. In 
snake bite a straight incision penetrating into the flesh or muscle 
should be made across the center of the swelling and in the direction 
of the long axis of the face. After this has been done a small wad of 
cotton batting should be pressed against the wounds until the bleed- 
ing has almost stopped. Afterwards the following lotion may be 
applied to the wounds several times a day : Permanganate of potas- 
sium, half a dram ; distilled water, 1 pint. As snake bites are usually 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 15 

attended with considerable depression, which may terminate in stu- 
por, it is advisable to give occasional doses of whisky. Half a pint 
of whisky mixed with a pint of water should be given, and the dose 
should be repeated in half an hour if the animal is sinking into a 
stupefied and unconscious condition. The repetition of the dose 
must depend on the symptoms which the animal shows. It must be 
borne in mind that the object of treatment is to ward off the stupor, 
which is one of the results of snake bite, and that in administering 
whisky the object is to produce a stimulating and not an intoxicating 
or stupefying effect. The swelling from an insect bite should be 
bathed with ammonia water as soon as noticed and then treated with 
frequent applications of hot water. 

SALIVATION. 

Salivation is a symptom of some general or local disorder. It may 
be a symptom of a general disease, such as rabies or foot-and-mouth 
disease, or it may be a purely local trouble, as when copious secretion 
of the salivary glands is produced by the eating of irritating plants, 
such as wild mustard. When saliva is observed to dribble from the 
mouth, that part should be carefully examined by introducing into 
the mouth an instrument like a balling iron, or, if one is not at hand, 
by grasping the tongue and partially withdrawing it from the mouth, 
and by placing a block of wood between the back teeth, while all 
parts of the mouth are exposed to a good light, so that the presence 
of any foreign substance may be detected. The cause is sometimes 
found to be a short piece of wood becoming fixed on the palate, its 
two ends resting on the upper molar teeth of each side ; or it may be 
a needle, thorn, or splinter of wood embedded in the tongue. Some- 
times a sharp piece of tin or other metal may become partially em- 
bedded in the inner surface of the cheek. Hay occasionally possesses 
some quality, usually dependent upon its having heated in the mow 
or having become moldy, which produces salivation. Second-crop 
clover and some irritant weeds in the pasture or forage may cause 
salivation. Cattle rubbed with mercurial ointment may swallow 
enough mercury in licking themselves to bring about the same result. 
(See " Mercury poisoning," p. 57.) Such cases, of course, arise from 
the constitutional action of mercury, and, on account of the common 
habit which the animals have of licking themselves, indicate the 
danger of using such preparation externally. Mercury is also readily 
absorbed through the skin, and as cattle are very susceptible to its 
action it is thus easy for them to be poisoned by it even without lick- 
ing it from the surface. Cases of mercurial poisoning sometimes 
follow disinfection of cattle stables with the usual 1 to 1,000 solution 
of mercuric chlorid. 



16 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Treatment. — If salivation depends on the irritation and inflamma- 
tion set up by the ingestion of acrid plants, or forage possessing some 
peculiar stimulating property, the feed must be changed, and a lotion 
composed of an ounce of powdered alum dissolved in a quart of water 
may be syringed into the mouth twice a day, using half a pint of the 
solution each time. If, however, the salivation is due to the presence 
of a thorn, splinter of wood, or any other foreign substance em- 
bedded in the cheek or tongue, the offending object should be re- 
moved and the mouth washed occasionally with a weak solution (2 
per cent) of carbolic acid and tepid water. When salivation is pro- 
duced by mercurial poisoning or by foot-and-mouth disease, the 
treatment appropriate to those general conditions of the system, as 
well as the local treatment should be applied. (For information 
about foot-and-mouth disease see p. 381.) 

IRREGULARITIES OF THE TEETH. 

Irregularities of the teeth may be occasioned by the unequal wear- 
ing of some of the teeth or by some of the incisors being broken, which 
may happen when cattle are pastured on sandy or gravelly soil. The 
molar teeth may also show irregular wear from similar causes, or 
from a disease or malformation of the jaw. Their edges may become 
sharp, or it may happen that a molar tooth has been accidentally 
fractured. It may also occur that a supernumerary tooth has devel- 
oped in an unusual position, and that it interferes with the natural 
and regular mastication of the feed. 

Treatment. — The mouth may be examined by grasping the animal's 
tongue with one hand and partially withdrawing it from the mouth, 
so as to expose the incisor and molar teeth to inspection. When it 
is desired, however, to examine the molar teeth with the fingers, so as 
to obtain a better idea of their condition, an instrument like the 
balling iron which is used for the horse should be introduced into 
the mouth, so as to separate the jaws and keep them apart while the 
examination is being made. Any sharp edges of the molars must be 
removed by the tooth rasp, such as is used for horses. Any super- 
numerary tooth which interferes with mastication or any tooth which 
is fractured or loose should be extracted. In performing such opera- 
tions it is desirable to throw, or cast, the animal, and to have its 
head held securely, so as to enable the operator to do what is neces- 
sary without difficulty. 

CARIES OR DECAY OF THE TEETH. 

The presence of caries may be suspected if the mouth exhales a bad 
odor and if the animal during mastication occasionally stops as if it 
were in pain. The existence of caries in a molar tooth may be ascer- 
tained by examining the mouth in the manner already described. If 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 17 

one of the molars is found to be carious, it should be extracted. 
When the crown of the tooth has been destroyed and only the stump 
or root is left, extraction is impracticable. In case the animal has 
special value the root stumps may be removed by a veterinarian by 
the operation of trephining; otherwise, it is best to sell the animal to 
the butcher. 

ACTINOMYCOSIS OF THE JAWBONES (BIG JAW OR LUMPY JAW). 

[See Actinomycosis, p. 438.] 

INFLAMMATION OF MUCOUS MEMBRANE OF MOUTH (STOMATITIS). 

The membrane of the mouth may become inflamed by eating some 
irritating substance or plant, or little vesicles may form in the 
mouths of calves when they are affected with indigestion, constitu- 
ting what is termed aphtha. 

Symptoms. — The saliva dribbles from the mouth, and when the 
mouth is examined the surface of the tongue and other parts appear 
red and inflamed. When young animals are affected with the form 
of disease termed aphtha, small red elevations are observed on the 
tongue and other parts of the mouth, having little white points on 
their centers, which consists of the epithelium of the mucous mem- 
brane raised into vesicles. These white patches are succeeded by 
ulcerated surfaces, which are caused by the shedding of the white 
patches of epithelium. 

Treatment. — When there is merely a reddened and inflamed con- 
dition of the mucous membrane of the mouth, it will suffice to syringe 
it out several times a day with 4 ounces of the following solution : 
Alum, 1 ounce; water, 2 pints. When the edges of the tongue and 
other parts of the mouth are studded with ulcers, they should be 
painted over once a day with the following solution until the affected 
surface is healed: Permanganate of potassium, 20 grains; water, 1 
ounce. When indigestion is associated with an ulcerated condition 
of the mouth, separate treatment is required. 

ULCERATIVE STOMATITIS (OR ULCERS IN THE MOUTHS OF YOUNG CALVES). 

[See Necrotic stomatitis, p. 4<>2.] 

MYCOTIC STOMATITIS (SORE MOUTH). 

[See p. 537.] 

INDURATION OF THE TONGUE (ACTINOMYCOSIS). 

[See Actinomycosis, p. 438.] 

DISEASES OF THE PHARYNX AND GULLET. 

PHARYNGITIS (SORE THROAT). 

Pharyngitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the 
pharynx. It is frequently associated with inflammatory diseases of 
the respiratory tract, such as laryngitis and bronchitis or pleurisy. 
33071°— 1G 2 



18 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

Symptoms. — The muzzle is dry and the saliva dribbles from the cor- 
ners of the mouth; the animal swallows with difficulty or not at all, 
and holds its neck in a stiff, straight position, moving it as little as 
possible. The eyelids are half closed, the white of the eye is bloodshot, 
and the animal occasionally grinds its teeth. After masticating the 
feed the animal drops it out of its mouth as if to avoid the pain of 
swallowing, and also evinces pain when pressure is applied externally 
on the pharynx and tries to prevent the pressure from being applied. 

Causes. — Pharyngitis may be produced by a sudden cooling of the 
surface of the body, as when cattle are exposed to a cold wind or a 
cold rain ; or by swallowing irritant substances. 

Treatment. — The throat should be syringed three times a day with 
an ounce of the following solution : Nitrate of silver, 1| drams ; dis- 
tilled water, 1 pint. Bland and soothing drinks, such as linseed tea 
or oatmeal and water should occasionally be offered. Diet should 
consist of soft food, such as bran mashes with a little linseed meal 
mixed in them. Dry hay and fodder should not be given. Fresh, 
green grass or sound ensilage may be fed in small quantities. The 
upper part of the throat and the space between the jaws should be 
well rubbed once a day with the following liniment: Liquor am- 
monia fortior, 4 ounces; oil of turpentine, 4 ounces; olive oil, 4 
ounces; mix. When evidence of blistering appears the application 
of the liniment should be stopped and the skin anointed with vase- 
line. Under the treatment described above the inflammation of the 
throat will gradually subside and the animal will be able to swallow 
as usual in five or six days. We need hardly say that during its 
treatment the sick animal should be kept in a comfortable stable. 

PAROTITIS. 

Inflammation of the parotid gland may arise from the inflamma- 
tion extending to it when an ox is affected with pharyngitis or laryn- 
gitis, or the inflammation may commence in the salivary ducts and 
may depend on some influence the nature of which is unknown. 
Parotitis sometimes arises from a blow or contusion severe enough 
to set up inflammation in the structure of the gland. Tuberculosis 
and actinomycosis may infrequently be characterized by the lodg- 
ment of their parasitic causes in the parotid glands, in which case 
parotitis may be a symptom of either of these diseases. 

Symptoms. — There is an elongated, painful swelling, beginning at 
the base of the ear and passing downward along the posterior margin 
of the lower jaw. The swelling is sometimes limited to one side, and 
when both are swollen it is generally larger on one side than on the 
other. The secretion of saliva is increased, the appetite is poor, 
the neck is stiff, so that it is painful to raise the head, and feed is 
swallowed with difficulty. In many cases the swelling of the glands, 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 19 

when submitted to proper treatment, disappears in a comparatively 
short time. In other cases, however, they remain enlarged, even 
after the animal recovers its appetite. In tuberculosis, lymphatic 
glands beneath the parotid glands are sometimes enlarged, thus 
causing the appearance of enlarged parotid glands. 

Treatment. — A warm bran poltice, made by mixing bran with a 
hot 2 per cent compound cresol solution in water, should be applied 
on the swollen gland and kept in place by means of a bandage. 
Whenever the poultice has cooled it should be replaced by a new 
one. This treatment should be continued until the pain is less and 
the swelling is reduced or until there is evidence of pus formation, 
which may be ascertained by examining the surface of the gland with 
the fingers ; and when, on pressing any part of the surface, it is found 
to fluctuate or " give," then we may conclude that there is a collection 
of pus at that place. It is well not to open the abscess until the 
fluctuation is well marked, as at this stage the pus or matter is near 
the surface and there is less trouble in healing the wound than if the 
pus is deep seated. The abscess should be opened with a clean, sharp 
knife. The poulticing should then be continued for two or three 
days, but the form of the poultice should be changed, by replacing 
the bran with absorbent cotton and pouring the compound cresol 
solution on the cotton. At all times the wound should be kept clean 
and the cavity injected once or twice daily with a solution of 1 dram 
of carbolic acid in 8 ounces of water. Under this treatment the pus 
may cease and the wound heal without complications. Saliva may 
issue from the orifice and result in the formation of a salivary fistula. 
This requires operative treatment by a qualified veterinarian. When 
poulticing fails to reduce the swelling or produce softening, the in- 
flamed area may be rubbed once daily with camphorated oil, com- 
pound iodin ointment, or painted twice daily with Lugol's solution 
of iodin. The diet should be as recommended under Pharyngitis 
(p. 18). 

PHARYNGEAL POLYPI. 

Tumors form not infrequently in the phaiynx, and may give rise 
to a train of symptoms varying according to their size and location. 
The tumor may be so situated that by shifting its position a little it 
may partially obstruct the posterior nares (nostrils), when, of course, 
it will render nasal breathing very noisy and labored. In another 
situation its partial displacement may impede the entrance of air 
into the larynx. In almost any part of the pharynx, but especially 
near the entrance of the gullet, tumors interfere with the act of 
swallowing. As they are frequently attached to the wall of the 
pharynx by a pedicel or stalk, it will be seen that they may readily 
be displaced in different directions so as to produce the symptoms 



20 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

before described. Enlarged postpharyngeal lymphatic glands are 
not rare in tuberculosis, and by pressing upon the wall of the pharynx 
and restricting the lumen of this organ they cause difficulty in both 
breathing and swallowing. Such enlarged glands may be differ- 
entiated from tumors by passing the hand into the cow's throat after 
the jaws are separated by a suitable speculum or gag. 

Treatment. — The method of treatment in such cases is to sepa- 
rate the animal's jaws with an instrument termed a gag, and then, 
after drawing the tongue partially forward, to pass the hand into the 
pharynx and to twist the tumor gently from its attachment. One 
veterinarian who has had considerable practice in treating this form 
of disease scrapes through the attachment of the tumor gradually 
with his thumb nail. When the attachment is too strong to be 
severed in this way an instrument like a thimble, but possessing a 
sharp edge at the end, may be used to effect the same purpose, or 
the base of the tumor may be severed by the use of a crushing instru- 
ment known as an ecraseur. 

CHOKING. 

Choking usually happens from attempting to swallow too large 
an object, such as a turnip, potato, beet, apple, or pear, though in 
rare cases it may occur from bran, chaff, or some other finely divided 
feed lodging in and filling up a portion of the gullet. This latter 
form of- the accident is most likely to occur in animals that are 
greedy feeders. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms vary somewhat according to the part 
of the gullet or throat in which the obstruction is. In most cases 
there is a discharge of saliva from the mouth ; the animal coughs fre- 
quently, and when it drinks the water is soon ejected. The cow 
stops eating and stands back from the* trough, the expression is 
troubled, breathing is accelerated, and oftentimes there is bloating 
as a result of the retention of gas in the paunch. These symptoms, 
however, are not always present, for if the obstacle does not com- 
pletely close the throat or gullet, gas and water may pass, thus 
ameliorating the discomfort. If the obstruction is in the neck por- 
tion of the gullet, it may be felt as a lump in the left jugular gutter. 

Treatment. — If the object is in the throat, it is advisable to put a 
gag in the animal's mouth, and, while the head is in a horizontal 
direction by two assistants, to pass the hand into the pharynx, grasp 
the foreign body, and withdraw it gradually and steadily. When the 
substance is lodged in the upper part of the gullet, pressure should 
be made by an assistant in an upward direction against the object 
while the operator passes his hand into the pharynx, and if the assist- 
ant can not by pressure dislodge the substance from the gullet, the 
operator may by passing his middle finger above and partly behind 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 21 

the substance gradually slide it into the pharynx and then withdraw 
it by the mouth. 

The presence of an obstructing substance in the cervical (neck) 
portion of the gullet may be ascertained by passing the hand along 
the left side of the neck, when a hard and painless swelling will be 
found to indicate the presence of the foreign body. In such cases 
we must endeavor by gentle and persevering pressure with the thumb 
and next two fingers to slide the obstructing substance gradually up- 
ward to the pharynx. To facilitate this it is well to give the animal 
a half pint of raw linseed or olive oil before the manipulations de- 
scribed are commenced. When the substance has been brought into 
or nearly into the pharynx, then the mouth gag should be used, the 
tongue drawn partially forward with the left hand, and the right 
should be passed backward into the pharynx to withdraw the ob- 
struction. 

When bran or chaff causes the trouble it is best to give a small 
quantity of oil to lubricate the walls of the gullet, and then by gentle 
and persevering pressure, to endeavor to separate and divide the mass 
and to work it downward toward the stomach. This will be assisted 
by pouring small quantities of oil and water down the animal's throat. 
It is not advisable to use the probang to push down any soft material, 
such as oats or chaff, as this generally condenses and renders firmer the 
obstructing substance by pressing its particles or elements together, 
so that it forms a solid, resisting mass which can not be moved. 

In some cases the foreign body, either because it is in the chest 
portion of the esophagus, and so beyond reach, or because too firmly 
seated, can not be dislodged from the neck by pressing and manipu- 
lating that part externally. In such event we must resort to the use 
of the probang. (PI. Ill, figs. 2 and 3.) A probang is a flexible 
instrument and adapts itself to the natural curvature of the gullet, 
and if used cautiously there is not much risk of injury. Before 
passing the probang, a gag which has an aperture at each end, from 
which straps pass to be buckled at the back of the head below 
the horns, is introduced into the mouth. (PI. Ill, fig. 4.) The pro- 
bang should then be oiled, and, the head and neck being held in a 
straight line by two assistants, the tongue must be partly drawn out 
of the mouth, the probang cautiously passed along the roof of the 
mouth into the pharynx and thence into the gullet, through which 
it is passed down. If resistance is met, gentle and continuous pressure 
must be used, under the influence of which the object will generally 
in a short time pass into the stomach. One must be careful not to 
pass the probang into the larynx and thence into the windpipe, as 
an animal may readily be killed in this way. This accident is indi- 
cated by efforts to cough and by violently disturbed breathing. If 
such symptoms arise the probang must be withdrawn at once. Tc 



22 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

avoid a wrong passage, the end of the tube should be pressed very 
slowly through the throat until its presence in the esophagus is as- 
sured. After it is once in the esophagus care is still necessary, be- 
cause the walls of this tube may easily be torn. 

Some writers have advised that when the obstruction is lodged in 
the cervical (neck) portion of the gullet it should be struck with a 
mallet, to crush it and thus alter its shape, so that it may easily 
slip down into the stomach. If the obstructing substance is hard, 
this will be a dangerous operation, but if soft — as in the case of a 
ripe pear, for example — this procedure may be safely adopted. 

In all cases, if pressure applied on the neck fails to move the 
obstruction and the probang also fails to move it, it may be divided 
by a subcutaneous operation, or the gullet may be opened and the 
obstructing substance removed through the wound. In such cases 
the assistance of a veterinarian or a surgeon must be obtained. 

WOUNDS AND INJURIES OF THE GULLET. 

Sometimes the walls of the gullet may be more or less lacerated or 
abraded by the rash and too forcible use of the probang, and the 
animal consequently swallows with pain and difficulty. In such 
cases dry feed must be withheld for five or six days, so as to allow the 
injured parts to heal, and the diet must be limited to linseed tea, hay 
tea, and thin oatmeal gruel and molasses. The same kind of diet 
must be fed after the operation of cutting into the gullet has been 
performed. 

Sometimes the gullet is ruptured and lacerated to such an extent 
that treatment of any kind is hopeless. This has been known to occur 
when the handle of a pitchfork or buggy whip has been pushed clown 
a cow's throat to remove an obstruction. When such treatment has 
been applied it is best to slaughter the animal without delay, as the 
flesh may be utilized so long as there is no fever or general disease, 
and remedial treatment would be hopeless. In this connection it 
may be mentioned that whatever substitute may be used for a pro- 
bang, which sometimes is not at hand, it should be flexible and should 
possess a smooth surface. A piece of new rope, with the end closely 
wrapped and waxed and then oiled, or a piece of thin garden hose, or 
a well- wrapped twisted wire may be used in emergencies. 

DISEASES OF THE STOMACHS. 

ACUTE TYMPANITES (HOVEN, OR BLOATING). 

Tympanites is a distention of the rumen or paunch with gases of 
fermentation, and is manifested outwardly by swelling in the region 
of the left flank. 

Causes. — Tympanites may be caused by any kind of feed which 
produces indigestion. When cattle are first turned into young clover 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 23 

they eat so greedily of it that tympanites frequently results. Tur- 
nips, potatoes, cabbage, or the discarded pulp from sugar-beet fac- 
tories may also cause it. Middlings and corn meal also frequently 
give rise to it. 

Care is necessary in turning animals into fields of clover or stub- 
ble fields in which there is a strong growth of volunteer grain. It 
is always better to keep them from such pasturage while it is wet 
with dew, and they should be taken out when they have eaten a 
moderate quantity. When cattle are fed upon pulp from sugar 
beets, germinated malt, etc., they should be fed in moderate amounts 
until they have become accustomed to it, as any of these feeds may 
give rise to severe bloating. 

An excessive quantity of any of the before-mentioned feeds may 
bring on this disorder, or it may not be caused by excess, but to 
eating too hastily. Sometimes the quality of the feed is at fault. 
Grass- or clover when wet by dew or rain frequently disorders di- 
gestion and brings on tympanites; frozen roots or pastures covered 
with hoar frost should also be regarded as dangerous. When feed 
has been eaten too hastily, or when it is cold and wet, the digestive 
process is imperfectly performed, and the feed contained in the 
paunch ferments, during which process large quantities of gas are 
formed. The same result may follow when a coat is choked, as the 
obstruction in the gullet prevents the eructation or passing up of 
gas from the stomach, so that the gas continues to accumulate until 
tympanites results. 

Symptoms. — The swelling of the left flank is very characteristic, 
as in well-marked cases the flank at its upper part rises above the 
level of the backbone, and when struck with the tips of the fingers 
emits a drum-like sound. The animal has an anxious expression, 
moves uneasily, and is evidently distressed. If relief is not obtained 
in time, it breathes with difficulty, reels in walking or in standing, 
and in a short time falls and dies from suffocation. The distention 
of the stomach may become so great as to prevent the animal from 
breathing, and in some instances the case may be complicated by 
rupture of the stomach. 

Treatment. — If the case is not extreme, it may be sufficient to 
drive the animal at a walk for a quarter or half an hour; or cold 
water by the bucketful may be thrown against the cow's sides. In 
some cases the following simple treatment is successful: A rope or 
a twisted straw band is coated with pine tar, wagon grease, or other 
unsavory substance and is placed in the cow's mouth as a bit, being 
secured by tying behind the horns. The efforts of the animal to dis- 
lodge this object result in movements of the tongue, jaws, and throat 
that stimulate the secretion of saliva and swallowing, thus opening 



24 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the esophagus, which permits the exit of gas and at the same time 
peristalsis is stimulated reflexly. 

In urgent cases the gas must be allowed to escape without delay, 
and this is best accomplished by the use of the trocar. The trocar 
is a sharp-pointed instrument incased in a cannula or sheath, which 
leaves the sharp point of the trocar free. (See PI. Ill, figs. 5a and 
5b.) In selecting the point for using the trocar a spot on the left 
side equally distant from the last rib, the hip bone, and the trans- 
verse processes of the lumbar vertebras must be chosen. Here an 
incision about three-fourths of an inch long should be made with a 
knife through the skin, and then the sharp point of the trocar, being 
directed downward, inward, and slightly forward, is thrust into the 
paunch. (PI. I.) The cannula or sheath of the trocar should be 
left in the paunch so long as any gas continues to issue from it. If 
the cannula is removed while gas is still forming in the paunch and 
the left flank becomes considerably swollen, it may be necessary 
to insert it again. It is well, accordingly, to observe the cannula 
closely, and if gas is found to be issuing from it it should not be 
removed. When gas issues from it in considerable quantities the 
sound accompanying its escape renders the exact condition obvious. 
It is occasionally necessary to keep the cannula in the stomach for 
several hours. When this is necessary a piece of stout cord should 
be passed round the neck of the cannula immediately below the pro- 
jecting rim and then be passed round the animal's body and tied 
in a secure knot, and a careful attendant must remain with the cow 
during the entire period that the instrument is in place. The rim 
surrounding the mouth of the cannula should be in contact with the 
skin. Whenever the person in charge of the cow is convinced that 
gas has ceased to issue from the cannula the instrument should be 
removed. 

The trocar is to be used only in extreme or urgent cases, though 
everyone who has had experience in treating indigestion in cattle 
realizes that he has saved the lives of many animals by its prompt 
application. 

When the tympanitic animal is not distressed and the swelling 
of the flank is not great, or when the most distressing condition has 
been removed by the use of the trocar, it is best to use internal 
medicine. Two ounces of aromatic spirits of ammonia should be 
given every half hour in a quart of cold water; or half an ounce 
of chlorid of lime may be dissolved in a pint of tepid water and 
the dose repeated every half hour until the bloating has subsided; 
or 1 ounce of creolin in 2 quarts of tepid water may be given at one 
close or carefully injected through the cannula directly into the 
paunch to stop fermentation and the consequent formation of gas. 
It is generally necessary to give a moderate dose of purgative medi- 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 25 

cine after bloating has subsided, as animals frequently show symp- 
toms of constipation after attacks of indigestion. For this purpose 
1 pound of Glauber's salt may be used. 

The animal should be fed carefully upon easily digested food for 
several days after the bloating has subsided, so that all fermenting 
matter may pass out of the stomach. 

CHRONIC TYMPANITES. 

Cattle, especially those that have been kept in the stable all 
winter, are liable to suffer from chronic tympanites. In this form 
they bloat up after feeding, but seldom swell so much as to cause 
any alarm. The chronic form of indigestion may also follow an 
acute attack like that previously described. This is also a symptom 
of tuberculosis when the lymphatic glands lying between the lungs 
are so enlarged as to press upon and partly occlude the esophagus. 
It may develop in calves as a result of the formation of hair balls in 
the stomach. 

Treatment. — Treatment should be preceded by a moderate dose of 
purgative medicine: 1 pound of sulphate of magnesia (Epsom salt) 
or sulphate of soda (Glauber's salt), half an ounce of powdered 
Barbados aloes, 1 ounce of powdered ginger, 1 pint of molasses. The 
salts and aloes should be dissolved by stirring for a few minutes in 2 
quarts of lukewarm water, then the molasses should be added, and 
after all the ingredients have been stirred together for about 10 
minutes the dose should be administered. After the operation of 
the purgative it is generally necessary to give some tonic and antacid 
preparation to promote digestion, which is imperfectly performed in 
such cases. The following may be used : Powdered gentian, 3 ounces ; 
powdered bicarbonate of potash, 3 ounces; powdered ginger, 3 ounces; 
powdered capsicum, 1 ounce. Mix and divide into 12 powders, one 
of which should be given three times a day before feeding, shaken 
up with a pint and a half of water. It is also advantageous in such 
cases to give two heaped teaspoonsfuls of wood charcoal, mixed with 
the animal's feed three times a day. The animal should also go out 
during the day, as want of exercise favors the continuance of this 
form of indigestion. If the dung is hard, the constipation should be 
overcome by feeding a little flaxseed twice daily or by giving a hand- 
ful of Glauber's salt in the feed once or twice daily, as may be neces- 
sarj'. Roots, silage, and other succulent feeds are useful in this con- 
nection. If tuberculosis is suspected as the cause of chronic bloating, 
a skilled veterinarian should make a diagnosis, using the tuberculin 
test if necessary. Until it is settled that the cow has not tuberculosis, 
she should be kept apart from the other members of the herd. 



26 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

DISTENTION OF RUMEN OR PAUNCH WITH FEED. 

This form of indigestion is caused by the animal gorging itself 
with feed, and arises more from the animal's voracious appetite than 
from any defect in the quality of the feed supplied to it. The con- 
dition is, however, more severe if the feed consumed is especially con- 
centrated or difficult of digestion. In cases of this kind there is 
comparatively no great formation of gas, and the gas which is formed 
is diffused through the stomach instead of accumulating in a layer 
in its upper part. On pressing the flank with the closed fist the 
indent of the hand remains for a short time in the flank, as if the 
rumen were filled with a soft, doughy mass. 

This form of indigestion should be treated by stimulants, such as 
aromatic spirits of ammonia. 

If the formation of gas is not great and the distention with solid 
material is somewhat limited, the animal may be drenched through 
a piece of ordinary garden hose, one end inserted in the mouth, 
and the other end fitted with a funnel, giving 1£ pounds of Epsom 
salt or Glauber's salt dissolved in 2 gallons of water, at a single dose. 
Immediately after this treatment the left side of the animal, extend- 
ing below the median line of the abdomen, should be powerfully 
kneaded with the fist, so that the impacted food mass will be broken, 
allowing the water to separate it into small portions which can be 
carried downward for the process of digestion. But if the treatment 
fails and the impacted or overloaded condition of the rumen con- 
tinues, it may become necessary to make an incision with a sharp, 
long-bladed knife in the left flank, commencing at the point where 
it is usual to puncture the stomach of an ox, and prolong the incision 
in a downward direction until it is long enough to admit the hand. 
When the point of the knife is thrust into the flank and the blade 
cuts downward, the wall of the stomach, the muscle, and the skin 
should all be cut through at the same time. Two assistants should 
hold the edges of the wound together so as to prevent any food from 
slipping between the flank and the wall of the stomach, and then the 
operator should remove two-third of the contents of the rumen. This 
having been done, the edges of the wound should be sponged with a 
little carbolized warm water, and, the lips of the wound in the rumen 
being turned inward, they should be brought together with catgut 
stitches. The wound penetrating the muscle and the skin may then 
be brought together by silk stitches, which should pass through the 
entire thickness of the muscle and should be about 1 inch apart. The 
wound should afterwards be dressed once a day with a lotion and 
the animal covered with a tight linen sheet, to protect the wound 
from insects and dirt. The lotion to be used in such case is made up 
as follows : Sulphate of zinc, 1 dram ; carbolic acid, 2 drams ; glycerin, 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 27 

2 ounces; water, 14 ounces; mix. It is clear that this operation re- 
quires special skill and it should be attempted only by those who are 
competent. 

IMAGINARY DISEASES (HOLLOW HORN; LOSS OF CUD; WOLF IN THE TAIL). 

It would appear quite in place here, in connection with the diseases 
of the stomach and bowels of cattle, to consider the three old fallacies 
or superstitions known by the above names, since these names, when- 
ever and wherever used, seem to be invariably applied to some form 
of digestive derangement or disease having its origin in the stomach 
and bowels. 

Hollow horn. — In the first place it should be noted that the horns 
of all animals of the ox tribe are hollow. The horn cores are elonga- 
tions of the frontal bones of the skull, and the frontal sinuses, which 
are the larger of the air spaces of the head, are prolonged into the 
horn cores. When a cow is sick, if the horns are hot it is an evi- 
dence of fever; if they are cold it indicates impaired circulation of 
the blood ; but these manifestations of sickness are to be regarded as 
symptoms of some constitutional disorder and do not in themselves 
require treatment. The treatment should be applied to the disease 
which causes the abnormal temperature of the horns. The usual 
treatment for the supposed hollow horn, which consists in boring 
the horns with a gimlet and pouring turpentine into the openings 
thus made, is not only useless and cruel, but is liable to set up an 
acute inflammation and result in an abscess of the sinus. 

Loss of cud. — The so-called loss of cud is simply a cessation of 
rumination, frequently one of the first indications of some form of 
disease, since ruminants stop chewing the cud when they feel sick. 
Loss of cud is a symptom of a great many diseases, and when it is 
detected it should lead the observer to try to discover other symptoms 
upon which to base a correct opinion as to the nature of the disease 
from which the animal suffers. No local treatment is required. 

Wolf in the tail. — This term also seems to be vaguely applied to 
various disturbances of the digestive function, or to some disease 
which is in reality in the stomach or bowels. 

VOMITING. 

■ Vomiting is not to be confounded with rumination, though some 
writers have advanced the opinion that it is merely a disordered 
and irregular rumination. It is not of common occurrence in cattle. 
Sy7iiptoms. — Animals which vomit are frequently in poor condition. 
After having eaten tranquilly for some time the animal suddenly be- 
comes uneasy, arches the back, stretches the neck and head, and 
then suddenly ejects 10 to 12 pounds of the contents of the rumen. 



28 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

After having done this the uneasiness subsides and in a short time 
the animal resumes eating as if nothing had happened. 

Cause. — The cause of this disordered state of the digestive system 
in cattle is usually obscure, but has in some cases been traced to a 
partial closure of the opening into the second stomach or to a disten- 
tion of the esophagus. It has been found to occur when there was 
cancerous disease of the fourth stomach, and experimentally it has 
been shown that a suspension of digestion or great derangement of 
this stomach produces considerable nervous disorder of 'the rumen 
and sometimes vomiting or attempts to vomit. 

Treatment. — Easily digested feed and plenty of water should be 
given. Fear and excitement, chasing, or hurrying animals after 
they have eaten heartily are liable to bring on this result. In order 
to overcome irritation which may produce vomiting the following 
draft should be given: Hydrate of chloral, half an ounce; water, 1 
pint. The dose must be repeated when the condition of the animal 
seems to require it. As a rule, treatment is not successful. 

DEPRAVED APPETITE (PICA). 

Cattle suffering from this disease have a capricious and variable 
appetite as regards their ordinary feed but evince a strong desire to 
lick and eat substances for which healthy cattle show no inclination. 
Alkaline and saline-tasting substances are especially attractive to 
cattle having a depraved appetite and they frequently lick lime, 
earth, coal, gravel, and even the dung of other cattle. Cows in calf 
and young cattle are especially liable to develop these symptoms. 
Animals affected in this Avay lose condition, their coat is staring, gait 
slow, and small vesicles containing yellow liquid form under the 
tongue ; the milk given by such cows is thin and watery. Such ani- 
mals become restless and uneasy, as is indicated by frequent bellow- 
ing. The disease may last for months, the animal ultimately dying 
emaciated and exhausted. Depraved appetite frequently precedes 
the condition in which the bones of cattle become brittle and fracture 
easily, which is known as osteomalacia. 

Cause. — From the fact that this disease is largely one of regions, 
it is generally believed that some condition of the soil and water and 
of the local vegetation is responsible for it. It is more prevalent 
some years than others, and is most common in old countries, where 
the soil is more or less depleted. Cattle pastured on low, swampy 
land become predisposed to it. It occasionally happens, however, 
that one individual in a herd suffers though all are fed alike; in such 
cases the disease must arise from the affected animal's imperfect 
assimilation of the nutritive elements of the feed which is supplied 
to it. 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 29 

Treatnnent. — The aim in such cases must be to improve the process 
of digestion and to supply the animal with a sufficiency of sound 
and wholesome feed. The following should be given to the cow 
three times a day, a heaping tablespoonful constituting a dose: 
Carbonate of iron, 4 ounces ; finely ground bone or " bone flour," 
1 pound; powdered gentian, 4 ounces; common salt, 8 ounces; pow- 
dered fenugreek, 4 ounces; mix. In addition to this, 3 tablespoon- 
fuls of powdered charcoal may be mixed with the feed three times 
a day, and a piece of rock salt should be placed where the animal 
can lick it at will. German veterinarians have had brilliant results 
from the treatment of this disease with subcutaneous injections of 
apomorphin in doses of 1| to 5 grains for three or four days. 

HAIR CONCRETIONS. 

Hair concretions, or hair balls, result from the habit which some 
cattle have of licking themselves or other animals. As a result the 
hairs which are swallowed are carried around by the contractions of 
the stomach and gradually assume the form of a small pellet or 
ball. This increases in size as fresh quantities of hair, are intro- 
duced into the stomach and adhere to the surface of the ball. These 
balls are found most frequently in the reticulum or second stomach 
(PL II, B), though sometimes in the rumen. In calves hair balls 
are generally found in the fourth stomach. There are no certain 
symptoms by which we can determine the presence of hair balls in 
the stomach, and therefore no treatment can be recommended for 
such cases. In making post-mortem examinations of cattle we have 
sometimes found the walls of the reticulum transfixed with nails 
or pieces of wire, and yet the animal had not shown any symptoms 
of indigestion, but had died from maladies not involving the second 
stomach. 

INDIGESTION (DYSPEPSIA, OR GASTROINTESTINAL CATARRH). 

Tympanites, already described, is a form of indigestion in which 
the chief symptom and most threatening condition is the collection 
of gas in the paunch. This symptom does not always accompany 
indigestion, so it is well here to consider other forms under a sepa- 
rate head. If indigestion is long continued, the irritant abnormal 
products developed cause catarrh of the stomach and intestines — 
gastrointestinal catarrh. On the other hand, however, irritant 
substances ingested may cause gastrointestinal catarrh, which, in 
turn, will cause indigestion ; hence, it results that these several con- 
ditions are usually found existing together,. 

Causes. — Irritant feed, damaged feed, overloading of the stomach, 
or sudden changes of diet may cause this disease. Want of exer- 



30 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

rise predisposes to it, or feed which is coarse and indigestible may 
after a time produce it. Feed which possesses astringent prop- 
erties and tends to check secretion may also act as an exciting cause. 
Feed in excessive quantity may lead to disorder of digestion and 
to this disease. It is very likely to appear toward the end of pro- 
tracted seasons of drought; therefore a deficiency of water must be 
regarded as one of the conditions which favor its development. 

/Symptoms. — Diminished appetite, rumination irregular, tongue 
coated, mouth slimy, dung passed apparently not well digested and 
smelling badly, dullness, and fullness of the flanks. The disease 
may in some cases assume a chronic character, and in addition to the 
foregoing symptoms slight bloating or tympanites of the left flank 
may be observed; the animal breathes with effort and each respira- 
tion may be accompanied with a grunt, the ears and horns are alter- 
nately hot and cold, rumination ceases, the usual rumbling sound in 
the stomach is not audible, the passage of dung is almost entirely 
suspended, and the animal passes only a little mucus occasionally. 
Sometimes there is alternating constipation and diarrhea. There is 
low fever in many cases. 

The disease continues a few days or a week in the mild cases, while 
the severe cases may last several weeks. In the latter form the ema- 
ciation and loss of strength may be very great. There is no appe- 
tite, no rumination, nor peristalsis. The mouth is hot and sticky, the 
eyes have receded in their sockets, and milk secretion has ceased. In 
such cases the outlook for recovery is unfavorable. The patient falls 
away in flesh and becomes weaker, as is shown by the fact that one 
frequently finds it lying down. 

On examining animals which have died of this disease it is found 
that the lining membrane of the fourth stomach and the intestines, 
particularly the small intestine, is red, swollen, streaked with deeper 
red or bluish lines, or spotted. The lining of the first three stomachs 
is more or less softened, and may easily be peeled off. The third 
stomach (psalter) contains dry feed in hard masses closely adherent 
to its walls. 

In some cases the brain appears to become disordered, probably 
from the pain and weakness and from the absorption of toxins gener- 
ated in the digestive canal. In such cases there is weakness and an 
unsteady gait, the animal does not appear to take notice of and will 
consequently run against obstacles; after a time it falls and gives 
up to violent and disordered movements. This delirious condi- 
tion is succeeded by coma or stupor, and death ensues. 

Treatment. — Small quantities of roots, sweet silage, or selected 
grass or hay should be offered several times daily. Very little feed 
should be allowed. Aromatic and demulcent drafts may be given to 
produce a soothing effect on the mucous lining of the stomachs and 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 31 

to promote digestion. Two ounces of camomile flowers should be 
boiled for 20 minutes in a quart of water and the infusion on cooling 
should be given to the affected animal. This may be repeated three 
or four times a day. When constipation is present the following pur- 
gative may be administered: One pound of Glauber's salt dissolved in 
a quart of linseed tea and a pint of molasses. After this purgative 
has acted, if there is a lack of appetite and the animal does not 
ruminate regularly, the powder mentioned in remarks on the treat- 
ment of chronic tympanites may be given according to directions. 
The diet must be rather laxative and of an easily digestible character 
after an attack of this form of indigestion. Feed should be given in 
moderate quantities, as excess by overtaxing the digestive functions 
may bring on a relapse. Ice-cold water should be avoided. 

INDIGESTION FROM DRINKING COLD WATER (COLIC). 

This disorder is produced by drinking copiously of cold water, 
which arrests digestion and produces cramp of the fourth stomach, 
probably of the other stomachs, and also of the bowels. 

Causes. — It is not customary for the ox to drink much water at 
once. In fact, he usually drinks slowly and as if he were merely tast- 
ing the water, letting sonle fall out at the corners of his mouth at 
every mouthful. It would therefore seem to be contrary to the habits 
of the ox to drink copiously; but we find that during hot weather, 
when he has been working and is consequent^ very thirsty, if he 
drinks a large quantity of cold water he may be immediately taken 
with a very severe colic. Cows which are fed largely on dry hay 
drink copiously, like the working ox, and become affected in precisely 
the same manner. In such cases they are seized with a chill or fit of 
trembling before the cramps come on. 

Symptoms. — There is some distension of the abdomen, but no accu- 
mulation of gas. As the distension and pain occur immediately after 
the animal has drunk the water, there can be no doubt as to the 
exciting cause. 

Treatment. — Walk the animal about for 10 minutes before admin- 
istering medicine, and this allows time for a portion of the contents 
of the stomach to pass into the bowel, and renders it safer to give 
medicine. In many cases the walking exercise and the diarrhea bring 
about a spontaneous cure of this disorder, but as in some instances 
the cramps and pains of the stomachs persist, one may give 1 ounce 
of sulphuric ether and 1 ounce of tincture of opium, shaken up with 
a pint of warm water, and repeat the dose in half an hour if the ani- 
mal is not relieved. In an emergency when the medicine is not to be 
had, a tablespoonful of powdered ginger may be administered in a 
pint of warm water. 



32 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

INDIGESTION IN CALVES (GASTROINTESTINAL CATARRH, DIARRHEA, OR SCOUR). 

Sucking calves are subject to a form of diarrhea to which the fore- 
going designations have been applied. 

Causes. — Calves that suck their dams are not frequently affected 
with this disease, though it may be occasioned by their sucking at 
long intervals and thus overloading the stomach and bringing on 
indigestion, or from improper feeding of the dam on soft, watery, or 
damaged feeds. Suckling the calf at irregular times may also cause 
it. Exposure to damp and cold is a potent predisposing cause. 
Calves separated from their dams and fed considerable quantities 
of cold milk at long intervals are liable to contract this form of 
indigestion. Calves fed on artificial feed, used as a substitute for 
milk, frequently contract it. Damaged feed, sour or rotten milk, 
milk from dirty cans, skim milk from a dirty creamery skim-milk 
vat, skim milk hauled warm, exposed to the sun and fed from un- 
clean buckets may all cause this disease. 

Symptoms. — The calf is depressed; appetite is poor; sometimes 
there is fever; the extremities are cold. The dung becomes gradually 
softer and lighter in color until it is cream colored and little thicker 
than milk. It has a most offensive odor and may contain clumps of 
curd. Later it contains mucus and gas bubbles. It sticks to the 
hair of the tail and buttocks, causing the hair to drop off and the skin 
to become irritated. There may be pain on passing dung and also 
abdominal or colicky pain. The calf stands about with the back 
arched and belly contracted. There may be tympanites. Great 
weakness ensues in severe cases, and without prompt and successful 
treatment death soon follows. 

Treatment. — Remove the cause. Give appropriate feed of best 
quality in small quantities. Make sure that the cow furnishing the 
milk is healthy and is properly fed. Clean all milk vessels. Clean 
and disinfect the stalls. For the diarrhea give two raw eggs or a cup 
of strong coffee or 2 ounces of blackberry brandy. If the case is 
severe, give 1 ounce of castor oil with a teaspoonful of creolin and 
20 grains of subnitrate of bismuth. Repeat the bismuth and creolin 
with blackberry brandy and flaxseed tea every four hours. Tannopin 
may be used in dose of 15 to 30 grains. 

Calves artificially fed on whole or skim milk should receive only 
such milk as is sweet and has been handled in a sanitary manner. 
Milk should always be warmed to the temperature of the body 
before feeding. When calves artificially milk-fed develop diarrhea, 
the use of the following treatment has given excellent results in many 
cases : Immediately after milking, or the separation of the skim milk 
from the cream, formalin in the proportion of 1 to 4,000 should be 
added to the milk which is used for feeding; this may be closely 
approximated by adding four drops of formalin to each quart of 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 33 

milk. This medicated milk should be fed to the calf in the usual 
quantity. When the diarrhea is not controlled in three or four days 
by this treatment, the additional use of some of the agents recom- 
mended above may assist in a recovery. 

INFECTIOUS DIARRHEA; WHITE SCOUR. 

[See chapter on Diseases of yonn;,' calves, p. 245.] 
GASTROENTERITIS. 

This consists of an inflammation of the walls of the stomachs and 
of the bowel. 

Gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the walls of the stomachs and 
intestines, follows upon irritations more severe or longer continued 
than those that produced gastrointestinal catarrh. 

Causes. — Severe indigestion may be followed by gastroenteritis, or 
it may be caused by swallowing irritant poisons, such as arsenic or 
corrosive sublimate or irritant plants. Exposure to cold or inclement 
weather may produce the disease, especially in debilitated animals 
or animals fed improperly. It is asserted that if cattle feed on vege- 
tation infested with some kinds of caterpillars this disease may result. 

Symptoms. — Dullness; drooping of the ears; dryness of the muz- 
zle; dry skin; staring coat; loins morbidly sensitive to pressure; full- 
ness of the left flank, which is caused by the distention of the fourth 
stomach by gas. The pulse is small, the gait is feeble and staggering; 
each step taken is accompanied with a grunt, and this symptom is 
especially marked if the animal walks in a downward direction. 
There is loss of appetite, and rumination is suspended. The passages 
at first are few in number, hard, and are sometimes coated with 
mucus or with blood. Later a severe diarrhea sets in, when the pas- 
sages contain mucus and blood and have an offensive odor. There is 
evidence of colicky pain, and the abdomen is sensitive to pressure. 
Pain may be continuous. There is fever and acceleration of pulse 
rate and respirations. Mental depression and even insensibility occur 
before death. The disease is always severe and often fatal. 

Post-mortem appearances. — The mucous membrane of the fourth 
stomach has a well-marked red color and sometimes presents ulcera- 
tions. The wall is thickened and softened, and similar conditions 
are found in the walls of the intestines. The red discoloration ex- 
tends in spots or large areas quite through the wall, showing on the 
outside. 

Treatment. — Very small quantities of carefully selected feed must 
be given and the appetite must not be forced. Protect the animal 
well from cold and dampness. Internally, give linseed tea, boiled 
milk, boiled oatmeal gruel, or rice water. These protectives may 
carry the medicine. Tannopin in doses of 30 to 60 grains is good. 
33071°— 16 3 



34 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Subnitrate of bismuth in doses of 1 to 2 drams may be given. Pul- 
verized opium may be used, if the diarrhea is severe, in 1 to 2 dram 
doses. If the bowel movements are not free, one may give from a 
pint to a quart of castor or raw linseed oil. 

TRAUMATIC INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. 

This disease results from the presence of a foreign body. This 
condition is not rare in cattle, because these animals have the. habit of 
swallowing their feed without careful chewing, and so nails, screws, 
hairpins, ends of wire, and other metal objects may be swallowed 
unconsciously. Such objects gravitate to the second stomach, where 
they may be caught in the folds of the lining mucous membrane, 
and in some instances the wall of this organ is perforated. From this 
accident, chronic indigestion results. The symptoms, more or less 
characteristic, are pain when getting up or lying down; grunting and 
pain upon sudden motion, especially downhill; coughing; pain on 
pressure over the second stomach, which lies immediately above the 
cartilaginous prolongation of the sternum. If the presence of such a 
foreign body is recognized, it may be removed by a difficult surgical 
operation, or, as is usually most economical, the animal may be killed 
for beef, if there is no fever. 

DISEASES OF THE BOWELS. 

DIARRHEA AND DYSENTERY. 

[See also Gastrointestinal catarrh, p. 32.] 

The word " dysentery," as it is commonly used in relation to the 
diseases of animals, signifies a severe form of diarrhea. 

Causes. — Diarrhea is a symptom of irritation of the intestines, 
resulting in increased secretion or increased muscular contractions, 
or both. The irritation is sometimes the result of chilling from 
exposure, improper feeding, irritant feeds, indigestion, organic dis- 
eases of the intestines, or parasites. 

Symptoms. — Passages from the bowels are frequent, at first con- 
sisting of thin dung, but as the disease continues they become watery 
and offensive smelling, and may be even streaked with blood. At 
first the animal shows no constitutional disturbance, but later it 
becomes weak and may exhibit evidence of abdominal pain by look- 
ing around to the side, drawing the feet together, lying down, or 
moving restlessly. Sometimes this malady is accompanied with 
fever, great depression, loss of strength, rapid loss of flesh, and it 
may terminate in death. 

Treatment. — When the disease depends on irritating properties of 
the feed which has been supplied to the animal, it is advisable to give 
a mild purgative, such as a pint of castor or linseed oil. When the 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 35 

secretions of the bowels are irritating, an ounce of carbonate of mag- 
nesia and half an ounce of tincture of opium should be shaken up in 
a quart of linseed tea and given to the animal three times a day until 
the passages present a natural appearance. When there is debility, 
want of appetite, no fever, but a continuance of the watery discharges 
from the bowels, then an astringent may be given. For such cases 
the following is serviceable : Tannic acid, 1 ounce ; powdered gentian, 
2- ounces; mix and divide into 12 powders, one powder to be given 
three times a day until the passages present a natural appearance. 
Each powder may be mixed with a pint and a half of water. Tanno- 
pin is a new remedy that is most useful in such cases. The dose is 
from 30 grains to 2 drams. Useful household remedies are raw 
eggs, strong coffee, parched rye flour, or decoction of oak bark. In 
all cases the food must be given sparingly, and it should be care- 
fully selected to insure good quality. Complete rest in a box stall 
is desirable. When diarrhea is a symptom of a malady characterized 
by the presence of a blood poison, the treatment appropriate to such 
disease must be applied. 

SIMPLE ENTERITIS. 

[See Gastroenteritis, p. 33.] 
CROUPOUS ENTERITIS. 

Under certain conditions, severe irritation of the digestive canal 
may, in cattle, cause a form of inflammation of the intestines (enter- 
itis) that is characterized by the formation of a false membrane upon 
the surface of the lining membrane of the intestines, particularly 
the large ones. 

Symptoms. — There is fever, depression, loss of appetite, diarrhea, 
and in the fecal masses shreds of leathery false membrane may be 
found. These shreds are sometimes mistaken for parasites or for 
portions of the wall of the intestine. 

Treatment. — Give a pound of Glauber's salt, followed by bicar- 
bonate of soda in doses of 2 ounces four times daily. 

ENTERITIS (OBSTRUCTION RESULTING FROM INVAGINATION, OR INTUSSUSCEP- 
TION, TWISTING, AND KNOTTING OF THE BOWELS). 

Inflammation may arise from a knot forming on some part of the 
small intestine from the portion of the bowel becoming twisted on 
itself, or from one part of the bowel slipping into another, which is 
termed invagination. This form of enteritis occurs occasionally in 
animals of the bovine species. 

Causes. — The small intestine, which in the ox rests on the right 
side of the rumen, is, from the position which it occupies, predisposed 
to this accident. It has been ascertained that animals which have 
shown symptoms of this malady have trotted, galloped, or made other 



36 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

violent exertions in coming from drinking, or that they have been 
chased by dogs or by animals of their own species while at pasture. 
The accident is most likely to occur among cattle on very hilly pas- 
tures. The danger of jumping or running is greatest when the rumen 
is distended with food. 

/Symptoms. — This form of enteritis or obstruction is manifested by 
severe colicky pains; the ox scrapes and strikes the ground with his 
front and hind feet alternately; keeps lying down and getting up 
again; he keeps his tail constantly raised and turns his nose fre- 
quently to his right flank; he is frequently bloated, or tympanitic, 
on that side. He refuses feed and does not ruminate, and for some 
hours suffers severe pains. At first he frequently passes thin dung, 
and also urinates frequently, but passes only a little urine at a time. 
On the second day the pains have become less acute; the animal 
remains lying down ; moans occasionally ; his pulse is small and 
quick ; he still refuses feed and does not ruminate. At this stage he 
does not pass any dung, though sometimes a small quantity of bloody 
mucus may be passed. The animal passes very little urine. This 
condition may continue for a considerable time, as cattle so affected 
may live for 15 or even 20 days. 

Post-mortem appearance. — At death the bowels are found to be 
misplaced or obstructed, as mentioned above, and inflamed, the in- 
flammation always originating at the point where the intestine has 
been invaginated, twisted, or knotted. Sometimes the part is gan- 
grenous, the compression of the blood vessels preventing circulation, 
and thus causing the death of the tissues. 

Treatment. — Purgatives, anodynes, and other remedies are of no 
service in such cases, and bleeding also fails to produce any benefit. 
Indeed, it is usually true that in such cases treatment is useless. 
Some cases are recorded in which an incision has been made in the 
flank, so as to enable the operator to restore the intestine to its normal 
position or to remove the kink. 

CONSTIPATION. 

Constipation is to be regarded rather as a symptom of disease or. of 
faults in feeding than as a disease in itself. It occurs in almost all 
general fevers unless the bowels are involved in local disease, in 
obstructions of all kinds, from feeding on dry, bulky feed, etc. In 
order to remove the constipation the treatment must be applied to 
remove the causes which give rise to it. Calves sometimes suffer 
from constipation immediately after birth when the meconium that 
accumulates in the bowels before birth is not passed. In such cases, 
give a rectal inpection of warm water and an ounce of castor oil 
shaken up with an ounce of new milk. The mother's milk is the best 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE OBGANS. 37 

food to prevent constipation in the new-born calf, as it contains a 
large amount of fatty matter which renders it laxative in its effects. 
It is usually better to treat habitual constipation by a change of 
diet than by medicine. Flaxseed is a good feed laxative. If the 
constipation has lasted long, repeated small doses of purgatives are 
better than a single large dose. 

INTESTINAL WORMS. 

[See chapter on " The animal parasites of cattle," p. 510.] 
RUPTURES (VENTRAL HERNIA). 

Ventral hernia, or rupture, is an escape of some one of the abdom- 
inal organs through a rupture in the abdominal muscles, the skin 
remaining intact. The rumen, the small intestine, or part of the 
large intestine, and the fourth stomach are the parts which usually 
form a ventral hernia in bovine animals. 

Causes. — Hernia is frequently produced by blows of the horns, 
kicks, and falls. In old cows hernia may sometimes occur without 
any direct injury. 

Hernia of the rumen. — Hernia of the rumen is generally situated 
on the left side of the abdomen, on account of the situation of the 
rumen. In exceptional cases it may take place on the right side, 
and in such cases it also generally happens that some folds of the 
intestine pass into the hernial sac. Hernias have been classified into 
simple or complicated, recent or old, traumatic (from mechanical 
injury) or spontaneous. 

In recent traumatic hernia there is swelling on the left side of the 
lower part of the abdomen. The swelling is greatest in the cases of 
hernia which are situated on the lower part of the abdomen. Unless 
an examination is made immediately after the injury has been in- 
flicted it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to ascertain the exact 
extent of the rupture, owing to the swelling which subsequently takes 
place. Frequently there is no loss of appetite, fever, or other general 
symptoms attending the injury. From the twelfth to the fifteenth 
day the swelling has generally subsided to such an extent that it is 
possible bjr an examination to determine the extent of the rupture. 

In old cows what is termed spontaneous hernia may sometimes take 
place without any direct injury. The occurrence of this form of 
hernia is explained by the increase in the size of the abdomen, which 
takes place in an advanced stage of pregnancy, causing a thinning 
and stretching of the muscular fibers, which at last may rupture, or 
give way. Such hernias frequently occur about the end of the period 
of gestation, and in some instances have contained the right sac of 
the rumen, the omentum, the small and large intestines, a portion of 
the liver, and the pregnant uterus. 



38 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

In old hernias the swelling is soft and elastic, and if they have not 
contracted adhesions to the sides of the laceration, they can be made 
to disappear by pressure carefully applied. Sometimes this accident 
is complicated by a rupture of the rumen, constituting a complicated 
hernia. If a portion of the contents of the rumen escape into the 
abdomen, the case will be aggravated by the occurrence of peritonitis. 

Hernia or the bowel. — When the intestines (PI. Ill, fig. 6) form 
the contents of the hernia, it will be situated at the right side of the 
abdomen. In an intestinal hernia the swelling is usually not painful, 
of a doughy consistence or elastic, according as the intestine does or 
does not contain alimentary matter. This swelling can generally be 
made to disappear by pressure, and when it has been reduced one 
can easily recognize the direction and extent of the hernial opening. 
Hernias of the bowel which are situated at the upper and right side 
of the abdomen are usually formed by the small intestine. They are 
less easily reduced than a hernia in a lower situation, but when 
reduction has been effected they are less readily reproduced than 
those occurring lower. In hernias of the small intestine, adhesion of 
the protruding parts to the walls of the opening, or strangulation, 
are complications which sometimes take place. If adhesion has taken 
place the hernia can not be reduced by pressure, and when strangu- 
lation has occurred the animal shows symptoms of pain — is restless, 
turns its nose to the painful part, and shows those symptoms which 
are usually collectively designated under the term colic. If relief is 
not afforded, the animal will die. 

Hernia of the rennet, or fourth stomach. — This disease occa- 
sionally occurs in calves and is usually caused by a blow from a cow's 
horn on the right flank of the calf. After such an accident a swell- 
ing forms on the right flank near the last rib. This swelling may be 
neither hot nor painful, even at first, and is soft to the touch. It can 
be made to disappear by careful pressure, when the sides of the aper- 
ture through which it has passed can be felt. The application of 
pressure so as to cause the disappearance of the hernia is best made 
immediately after the occurrence of the accident, or when the edema 
which accompanies the swelling has disappeared. 

Treatment. — When a hernia is reducible — that is, can be pushed 
back into the abdomen — then, if it is of recent occurrence, it is advis- 
able to maintain the natural position of the parts by bandaging and 
to allow the walls of the laceration to grow together. The bowels 
should be kept reasonably empty by avoiding the use of bulky feed, 
and the animal must be kept quiet. 

The following method of bandaging is recommended by Bouley : 

First prepare a bandage (must be of strong material), about 10 yards long 
and between 3 and 4 inches broad, and a flexible and solid piece of pasteboard 
adapted in size to the surface of the hernia. The protruding organ must then 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 39 

be replaced in the abdomen and maintained in that position during the applica- 
tion of the bandage. This being done, a layer of melted pitch and turpentine 
is quickly spread on the skin covering the seat of the hernia, so as to extend 
somewhat beyond that space. This adhesive layer is then covered with a layer 
of fine tow, then a new layer of pitch and turpentine is spread on the tow, and 
the piece of pasteboard is applied on the layer of pitch, its outer surface being 
covered with the same preparation. Lastly, the bandage, adhering to the piece 
of pasteboard, to the skin, and to the different turns which it makes around the 
body, is carefully applied so as to form an immovable, rigid, and solid bandage, 
which will retain the hernia long enough for the wound in the abdominal walls 
to heal permanently. 

If the hernia is old and. small it -may be treated by injecting a 
strong solution of common salt about the edges of the tear. This 
causes swelling and inflammation, which, respectively, forces the pro- 
truded organ back and closes the opening. There is some risk 
attached to this method of treatment. 

In small, old, ventral hernias the method of compressing and 
sloughing off the skin has been used successfully. If the hernia is 
large a radical operation will be necessary, and this is also true when 
the symptoms indicate that a hernia is strangulated. This operation 
is performed by cutting down on the hernia, restoring the organ to 
the abdominal cavity, and then closing the wound with two sets of 
stitches; the inner stitches, in the muscular wall, should be made 
with catgut and the outer stitches, in the skin, may be made with silk 
or silver wire. The strictest surgical cleanliness must be observed. 
Bleeding vessels should be tied. Then a compress composed of ten 
or twelve folds of cloth must be placed smoothly over the seat of 
injury and a bandage applied around the body, the two ends being 
fastened at the back. In the smaller kinds of hernia, nitric acid may 
sometimes be applied with success. This treatment should not be 
applied until the swelling and inflammation attending the appearance 
of the hernia have subsided ; then, the contents of the hernia having 
been returned, the surface of skin corresponding to it is sponged over 
with a solution composed of 1 part of nitric acid to 2 of water. 
This treatment acts by exciting considerable inflammation, which 
has the effect of causing swelling, and thus frequently closing the 
hernial opening and preventing the contents of the sac from return- 
ing. A second application should not be made until the inflammation 
excited by the first has subsided. In what is termed spontaneous 
hernia it is useless to apply any kind of treatment. 

Umbilical herxia. — The umbilicus, or naval, is the aperture 
through which the blood vessels pass from the mouth to the fetus, 
and naturally the sides of this aperture ought to adhere or unite after 
birth. In very young animals, and sometimes in new-born calves, 
this aperture in the abdominal muscles remains open and a part of 
the bowel or a portion of the mesentery may slip through the open- 



40 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ing, constituting what is called umbilical hernia. The wall of the sac 
is formed by the skin, which is covered on the inner surface by a 
layer of cellular tissue, and within this there is sometimes, but not 
always, a layer of peritoneum. The contents of the hernia may be 
formed by a part of the bowel, by a portion of the peritoneum, or may 
contain portions of both peritoneum and bowel. When the sac con- 
tains only the peritoneum it has a doughy feel, but when it is formed 
by a portion of the bowel it is more elastic on pressue. 

Causes. — In the new-born animal the opening of the naval is gen- 
erally large, and may sometimes give way to the pressure of the 
bowel on account of the weak and relaxed condition of the abdominal 
muscles. This defective and abnormal condition of the umbilicus is 
frequently hereditary. It may be occasioned by roughly pulling 
away the umbilical cord; through kicks or blows on the belly; 
through any severe straining by which the sides of the navel are 
stretched apart. We may mention in this connection that it is best 
in new-born calves to tie the umbilical cord tightly about 2 inches 
from the navel, and then to leave it alone, when in most cases it will 
drop off in a few days, leaving the navel closed. 

Treatment. — It is well to bear in mind that many, and especially 
the smaller, umbilical hernias heal spontaneously; that is, nature 
effects a cure. As the animal gets older the abdominal muscles get 
stronger and possess more power of resistance to pressure, the bowels 
become larger and do not pass so readily through a small opening, so 
that from a combination of causes there is a gradual growing to- 
gether or adhesion of the sides of the navel. In cases of umbilical 
hernia in which there are no indications that a spontaneous cure will 
take place, the calf should be laid on its back, immediately on this 
being done the hernia will often disappear into the abdomen. If 
it does not, its reduction may be brought about by gentle handling, 
endeavoring, if need be, to empty the organs forming the hernia 
before returning them into the abdomen. After the hernia has been 
returned, the hair should be clipped from the skin covering it and a 
compress composed of 10 or 12 folds of linen or cotton should be 
applied, first smearing the skin with pitch and then a bandage about 
3 inches wide should be passed round the body so as to retain the 
compress in position. The lower part of the compress should be 
smeared with pitch, and also those portions of the bandage which 
pass over it, so as to keep it solid and prevent it from shifting. In 
some cases it will be found that the contents of the sac can not be 
returned into the abdomen, and this generally arises from the fact 
that some part of the contents of the sac has grown to or become 
adherent to the edges of the umbilical opening. In such a case the 
skin must be carefully laid open in the long direction, the adhesions 
of the protruding organs carefully separated from the umbilicus, and 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGAN'S. 41 

after the protruding parts have been returned into the abdomen, the 
sides of the umbilicus must be freshened if necessary by paring, and 
then the edges of the opening brought together by catgut stitches; 
the -wound in the skin must then also be brought together by stitches. 
The wound must be carefully dressed every day and a bandage passed 
round the body so as to cover and protect the part operated on. 

In small hernias nitric acid has been used successfully in the same 
manner as has been described in the treatment of ventral hernia. 
Sulphuric acid has also been used for a similar purpose, diluting it 
to the extent of 1 part of acid to 3 or 5 of water. In thin-skinned 
animals the weaker preparations ought to be preferred, and caution 
must be exercised in using such preparations so as not to destroy 
the tissues on which they are applied. 

Another method of treatment is, after the contents of the sac have 
been returned into the abdomen, to tie a piece of strong waxed cord 
round the pendulous portion which formed the outer covering of the 
hernia. The string is apt to slacken after two or three days, when a 
new piece of cord should be applied above the first one. The con- 
striction of the skin sets up inflammation, which generally extends to 
the umbilicus and causes the edges to adhere together, and by the 
time the portion of skin below the ligature has lost its vitality and 
dropped off, the umbilicus is closed and there is no danger of the 
abdominal organs protruding through it. This is what takes place 
when this method has a favorable result, though if the umbilicus does 
not become adherent and the skin sloughs, the bowels will protrude 
through the opening. 

Gut-tie (peritoneal hernia). — In peritoneal hernia of the ox a 
loop or knuckle of intestine enters from the abdomen into a rent in 
that part of the peritoneum which is situated at the margin of the 
hip bone or it passes under the remains of the spermatic cord, the 
end of which ma}' be grown fast to the inner inguinal ring. The 
onward pressure of the bowel, as well as the occasional turning of the 
latter round the spermatic cord, is the cause of the cord exercising 
considerable pressure on the bowel, which occasions irritation, ob- 
structs the passage of excrement, and excites inflammation, which 
terminates in gangrene and death. 

The rent in the peritoneum is situated at the upper and front part 
of the pelvis, nearer to the sacrum than the pubis. 

Causes. — Among the causes of peritoneal hernia considerable im- 
portance is attached to a method of castration which is practiced in 
certain districts, viz, the tearing or rupturing of the spermatic cord 
by main force instead of dividing it at a proper distance aboAe the 
testicle in a surgical manner. After this violent and rough method 
of operating, the cord retracts into the abdomen and its stump be- 
comes adherent to some part of the peritoneum, or it may wind 



42 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

around the bowel and then the stump becomes adherent, so that 
strangulation of the bowel results. The rough dragging on the cord 
may also cause a tear in the peritoneum, the result of which need not 
be described. The severe exertion of ascending hills and mountains, 
drawing heavy loads, or the straining which oxen undergo while 
lighting each other may also give rise to peritoneal hernia. 

Symptoms. — The ox suddenly becomes very restless, stamps with 
his feet, moves backward and forward, hurriedly lies down, rises, 
moves his tail uneasily, and kicks at his belly with the foot of the 
affected side. The pain evinced may diminish but soon returns 
again. In the early stage there are frequent passages of dung, but 
after the lapse of 18 or 24 hours this ceases, the bowel apparently 
being emptied to the point of strangulation, and the passages now 
consist only of a little mucus mixed with blood. When injections are 
given at this time the water passes out of the bowel without even 
being colored. The animal lies down on the side where the hernia 
exists and stretches out his hind feet in a backward direction. These 
two particular symptoms serve to distinguish this affection from en- 
teritis and invagination of the bowel. As time passes the animal 
becomes quieter, but this cessation of pain may indicate that gangrene 
of the bowel has set in, and may, therefore, under certain circum- 
stances, be considered a precursor of death. Gangrene may take 
place in from four to six days, when perforation of the bowel may 
occur and death result in a short time. 

Treatment. — In the first place the ox should be examined by pass- 
ing the oiled hand and arm into the rectum; the hand should be 
passed along the margin of the pelvis, beginning at the sacrum and 
continuing downward toward the inguinal ring, when a soft, painful 
swelling will be felt, which may vary from the size of an apple to that 
of the two fists. This swelling will be felt to be tightly compressed 
by the spermatic cord. It very rarely happens that there is any 
similar swelling on the left side, though in such cases it is best to make 
a thorough examination. The bowel has sometimes been released 
from its position by driving the ox down a hill ; by causing him to 
jump from a height of 2 feet to the ground; the expedient of trot- 
ting him also has been resorted to with the hope that the jolting 
movement might bring about a release of the bowel. If the simple ex- 
pedients mentioned have been tried and failed, then the hand being 
passed into the rectum should be pressed gently on the swelling in an 
upward and forward direction, so as to endeavor to push the im- 
prisoned portion of the bowel back into the abdomen. While this is 
being done the ox's hind feet should stand on higher ground than the 
front, so as to favor the slipping out of the bowel by its own weight, 
and at the same time an assistant should squeeze the animal's loins, 
so as to cause it to bend downward and so relax the band formed by 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 43 

the spermatic cord. If the imprisoned portion of gut is freed, which 
may be ascertained by the disappearance of the swelling, the usual 
sounds produced by the bowels moving in the abdomen will be heard, 
and in a few hours the feces and urine will- be passed as usual. If the 
means mentioned fail to release the imprisoned portion of the gut, 
then an incision about 4 inches long must be made in the right flank 
in a downward direction, the hand introduced into the abdomen, the 
situation and condition of swelling exactly ascertained, and then a 
probe-pointed knife inserted between the imprisoned bowel and band 
compressing it, and turned outward against the band, the latter 
being then cautiously divided and the imprisoned gut allowed to 
escape, or,' if necessary, the bowel should be drawn gently from its 
position into the abdomen. The wound in the flank must be brought 
together in the same way as in the case of the wound made in operat- 
ing for impaction of the rumen. 

WOUNDS OF THE ABDOMEN. 

A wound of the abdomen may merely penetrate the skin; but as 
such cases are not attended with much danger, nor their treatment 
with much difficulty, we will consider here merely those wounds 
which penetrate the entire thickness of the abdominal walls and 
expose to a greater or less extent the organs contained in that cavity. 

Causes. — Such accidents may be occasioned by falling on fragments 
of broken glass or other sharp objects. A blow from the horn of 
another animal may penetrate the abdomen. Exposure and pro- 
trusion of some of the abdominal organs may also be occasioned by 
the incautious use of caustics in the treatment of umbilical or ventral 
hernia. The parts which generally escape through an abdominal 
wound are the small intestine and floating colon. 

Symptoms. — When the abdominal wound is small, the bowel ex- 
posed presents the appearance of a small round tumor, but in a few 
moments a loop of intestine may emerge from the opening. The ani- 
mal then shows symptoms of severe pain by pawing with his feet, 
which has the effect of accelerating the passage of new loops of in- 
testine through the wound, so that the mass which they form may 
even touch the ground. The pain becomes so great that the ox now 
not only paws but lies down and rolls, thus tearing and crushing his 
bowels. In such cases it is best to slaughter the animal at once ; but 
in the case of a valuable animal in which tearing and crushing of the 
bowels has not taken place the bowels should be washed with freshly 
boiled water reduced to the temperature of the body and returned 
and the wounds in the muscle and skin brought together in a manner 
somewhat similar to that described in speaking of ventral hernia. 



44 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

DISEASES OF THE LIVER AND SPLEEN. 

JAUNDICE (THE YELLOWS, OR CONGESTION OF THE LIVER). 

When jaundice exists, there is a yellow appearance of the white of 
the eyes and of the mucous membrane of the mouth. A similar aspect 
of the skin may also be observed in animals which are either partly 
or altogether covered with white hair. Jaundice is then merely a 
symptom of disease and ought to direct attention to ascertaining, if 
possible, the cause or causes which have given rise to it. A swollen 
condition of the mucous membrane of that part of the bowel called 
the duodenum may produce jaundice, as that mechanically closes the 
orifice of the biliary duct. In constipation there is an inactive or tor- 
pid condition of the bowel, and the bile which passes into the intes- 
tine may be absorbed and cause the yellow staining of jaundice. 
Jaundice is one of the symptoms of Texas fever. It may also arise 
from the presence of parasites or gallstones in the ducts, forming a 
mechanical obstruction to the onward flow of bile. The conditions 
under which jaundice most commonly calls for treatment are when 
cattle have been highly fed and kept in a state of inactivity. At such 
time there is an excess of nutritive elements carried into the blood, 
which is associated with increased fullness of the portal vein and 
hepatic artery. When continued high feeding has produced this 
congested state of the liver, the functions of that organ become dis- 
ordered, so that a considerable portion of the bile, instead of being 
excreted and passing into the intestine, is absorbed by the hepatic 
veins. 

The structure of the liver is shown in Plate IV. 

/Symptoms. — This disease, although rare, occurs most frequently 
among stall-fed cattle. Pressure along the margin of the short ribs 
on the right side produces pain ; the appetite is poor and the animal 
shows hardly any inclination to drink ; the mucous membranes of the 
eye and mouth are yellow, the urine has a yellow or brown appear- 
ance, the animal lies down much and moves with reluctance, moans 
occasionally, and has a tottering gait. The ears and horns are alter- 
nately hot and cold ; in cows the secretion of milk is much diminished, 
and that which is secreted has a bitter taste; sometimes the animal 
has a dry, painful cough and presents a dull, stupefied appearance. 

Treatment. — In such cases it is advisable to produce a free action 
of the bowels, so as to remove the usually congested condition of the 
portal vein and liver. For this purpose the administration of the 
following dose is recommended : Sulphate of soda, 16 ounces ; 
molasses, 1 pint; warm water, 1 quart. The sulphate of soda is dis- 
solved by stirring it up in tepid water. Following this the animal 
should have a heaping tablespoonful of artificial Carlsbad salt in 
the feed three times daily. This treatment may be assisted by giv- 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE OEGANS. 45 

ing occasional injections of warm water and soap. The diet should 
be laxative and moderate in quantity and may consist of coarse bran 
mash, pulped roots, grass in the season, and hay in moderate 
quantity. 

HEPATITIS (INFLAMMATION OP THE LIVER). 

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver and usually occurs as a 
complication of some infectious disease. It may also occur as a 
complication of gastrointestinal catarrh or in hot weather from 
overheating or damaged (putrid or fermented) feeds. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are sometimes obscure and their real 
significance is frequently overlooked. The most prominent symp- 
toms are yellowness of the white of the eye and of the membrane 
lining the mouth; the appetite is poor, the body presents an emaci- 
ated appearance, the feces are light colored, while the urine is likely 
to be unusually dark; there is thirst, and pain is caused by pressing 
over the liver. The gait is weak and the animal lies down more 
than usual, and while doing so frequently rests its head on the side 
of its chest. 

Treatment. — Give a purge of Glauber's salts and after it has oper- 
ated give artificial Carlsbad salts in each feed, as advised under 
" Jaundice." Give green feed and plenty of water. Oil of turpen- 
tine should be rubbed in well once a day over the region of the liver. 
The skin on which it should be applied extends from the false ribs 
on the right side to 6 inches in front of the last one, and from the 
backbone to 12 inches on the right side of it. 

FLUKE DISEASE. 

[See chapter on " The animal parasites of cattle," p. 510.] 
SPLENITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE SPLEEN). 

This disease occurs almost solely as a result of the existence "of 
some infectious disease, and the symptoms caused by it merge with 
the symptoms of the accompany causative disease. The spleen is 
seriously involved and becomes enlarged and soft in Texas fever, 
anthrax, and blood poisoning. 

DISEASES OF THE PERITONEUM. 

PERITONITIS. 

Peritonitis consists in an inflammation of the peritoneum, which is 
the thin, delicate membrane that lines the abdomen and covers the 
abdominal organs. 

Causes. — Wounds are the usual cause in cattle. The wound may 
be of the abdominal wall or of the intestines, stomach, or uterus ; or 
inflammation may extend from one of the organs of the abdominal 



46 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

cavity to the peritoneum; so this disease may complicate enteritis or 
inflamed womb. A sharp metal body may perforate the second 
stomach and allow the gastric contents to escape, irritating the peri- 
toneum. This disease may follow castration or operation for hernia. 

/Symptoms. — A continuous or occasional shivering; the animal lies 
down, but appears uneasy; it frequently turns its head toward its 
belly and lows plaintively ; pressure on the flanks produces pain ; has 
no appetite ; muzzle is dry and no rumination ; while standing, its legs 
are placed well under its body ; pulse small and hard. The evacua- 
tions from the bowels are dry and hard. If this disease is compli- 
cated by the presence of inflammation of the bowels, the pain is more 
severe and the animal is more restless. The skin is cold and dry in 
the early stage of this disease, but in a more advanced stage this con- 
dition may be succeeded by heat of the skin and quick breathing. 
The fits of trembling, uneasiness, small and hard pulse, and tension of 
the left flank are symptoms the presence of which would enable one 
to reach the conclusion that peritonitis exists. 

Post-mortem appearance. — The membrane lining the abdomen and 
covering the surface of the bowels is reddened to a greater or less 
extent, and there is usually considerable serous, or watery, fluid col- 
lected in the abdomen. 

Treatment. — When we have to do with the form of peritonitis re- 
sulting from an injury, as when the horn of another animal has been 
thrust through the abdominal walls, this lesion must be treated in 
accordance with directions before given, but the general treatment 
must be similar to that which follows. Peritonitis resulting from 
castration or from parturient fever must also be treated in connec- 
tion with the special conditions which give rise to it, as the general 
treatment of this disease must be modified to some extent by the 
exciting cause. 

The aim must be to discover and remove the cause. The cause 
must be treated according to its nature. Harms strongly recommends 
borax in the treatment of peritonitis. He gives 6 ounces in the first 
24 hours, divided into three doses, and afterwards he gives 6 drams 
three times daily. Opium in doses of 2 to 3 drams may be given. 
To bring on evacuations of the bowels it is better to give rectal injec- 
tions than to administer purges. The strength may be sustained by 
coffee, whisky, or camphor. 

The body should be warmly clothed, and it is advisable, when prac- 
ticable, to have a blanket which has been wrung out of hot water 
placed over the abdomen, then covered by several dry blankets, which 
are maintained in position by straps or ropes passing round the body. 
The wet blanket must be changed as it cools — the object of treatment 
being to warm the surface of the body and to determine as much 
blood to the skin as possible. The diet should consist of laxative 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 47 

food and drinks, such as linseed tea. If peritonitis assumes chronic 
form the diet should be nutritious, such as selected clover hay, linseed 
cake, grass, etc, and iodid of potassium should be given three times 
a day in gram doses dissolved in a pint of water. 

DROPSY OF THE ABDOMEN (ASCITES). 

In this disease there is a serous, or watery, effusion in the cavity 
of the abdomen. 

Causes. — When old animals are fed on innutritious feed or when 
reduced by disease, they become anemic ; in other words, their blood 
becomes impoverished and drops}' may follow. An innutritious and 
insufficient diet produces the same effect in young animals. It is one 
of the results of peritonitis, and may also arise from acute or chronic 
inflammation of the liver, such as is of common occurrence when 
flukes are present in the liver in large numbers. Heart disease and 
chronic lung disease may be followed b}^ ascites. It is sometimes, in 
calves, a symptom of infestation with worms. 

Symptoms. — A gradual increase in the size of the abdomen at its 
lower part, while the flanks becomes hollow; pallor of the mucous 
membrane of the mouth and eye; weak and sluggish gait; want of 
appetite, and irregularity in ruminating. On percussion or tapping 
the surface of the abdomen with the fingers, a dull sound is produced. 
If the hand and arm are oiled and passed into the rectum as far as 
possible, on moving the hand from one side to the other the fluctua- 
tion caused by the presence of fluid in the abdomen may be felt. 

Treatment. — If possible the cause must be discovered and removed. 
The diet should be nutritious, and in those cases in which we have 
merely to deal with anemia (the bloodless state) arising from insuffi- 
cient diet, the use of tonics and diuretics, at the same time keeping 
the skin warm, may bring about a gradual absorption of the fluid 
contained in the abdomen. One of the following powders may be 
mixed with the animal's feed three times a day; or, if there is any 
uncertainty as to its being taken in that way, it should be mixed with 
sirup, so as to form a paste, and smeared well back on the animal's 
tongue with a flat wooden spoon : Carbonate of iron, 3 ounces ; pow- 
dered gentian, 3 ounces ; powdered nitrate of potassium, 3 ounces ; mix 
and divide into 12 powders. The administration of purgatives which 
promote a watery discharge from the mucous surface of the bowels 
also tends, by diminishing the serum of the blood, to bring about 
absorption and a gradual removal of the fluid contained in the abdo- 
men. Large doses should not be given, but moderate ones should 
be administered morning and night, so as to produce a laxative effect 
on the bowels for several days. To attain this end the following may 
be used : Sulphate of soda, 8 ounces; powdered ginger, half an ounce; 
to be mixed in 2 quarts of tepid water and given at one dose. 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate I. Position of the first stomach (rumen or paunch) on the left side. 
The area is inclosed by heavy dotted lines represents the rumen; the 
elongated, shaded organ is the spleen resting upon it. The skin and 
muscles have been removed from the ribs to show the position of the 
lungs and their relation to the paunch. 
Plate II. Stomach of ruminants. 

Fig. 1. Stomach of a full-grown sheep, i natural size (after Thanhoffer, 
from It. Meade Smith's Physiology of Domestic Animals) : a, rumen, 
or first stomach ; b, reticulum, or second stomach ; c, omasum, or third 
stomach ; d, abomasum, or fourth stomach ; e, esophagus, or gullet, 
opening into the first and second stomachs ; f, opening of fourth stomach 
into small intestine ; g, opening of second stomach into third ; h, open- 
ing of third stomach into fourth. 

The lines indicate the course of the food in the stomachs. The incom- 
pletely masticated food passes down the esophagus, or gullet, into the 
first and second stomachs, in which a churning motion is kept up, 
carrying the food from side to side and from stomach to stomach. 
From the first stomach regurgitation takes place; that is, the food is 
returned through the gullet to the mouth to be more thoroughly chewed, 
and this constitutes what is known as " chewing the cud." From the 
second stomach the food passes into the third, and from the third into 
the fourth, or true, stomach, and from there into the intentines. 

Fig. 2. Stomach of ox (after Colin, from R. Meade Smith's Physiology of 
Domestic Animals) : a, rumen; b, reticulum; c, omasum; d, abomasum; 
e, esophagus ; /, opening of fourth stomach into small intestine. 

Fiirstenberg calculated that in an ox of 1,400 pounds weight the capacity of 

the stomach is as follows : 

Per cent. 

Rumen, 149.25 quarts, liquid measure 62. 4 

Reticulum, 23.77 quarts 10 

Omasum, 36.98 quarts 15 

Abomasum, 29.05 quarts 12. 6 

According to Colon— • Quarts. 

The capacity of a beef's stomach is 266. 81 

Small intestine : 69. 74 

Cecum 9. 51 

Colon and rectum 25. 58 

Plate III. Instruments used in treating diseases of digestive organs. 

Fig. 1. Clinical thermometer, % natural size. This is used to determine the 
temperature of the animal body. The thermometer is passed into the 
rectum after having been moistened with a little saliva from the mouth, 
or after having had a little oil or lard rubbed upon it to facilitate its 
passage. There it is allowed to remain two or three minutes, then with- 
48 






Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate I. 




■M 



w 



w ^ 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate II. 




X 





F> 



Stomach of Ruminants. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate III. 



Tjcrir [^ |, 'f l | l|l ! l lll ) l " 'l^|' |! i p i f ,| ^ ' i | 'pi) i 'i ii |i | 'i|iHi | iW | Mi i |iii i |iM)|ii i i)i''i| i n ^ 



2. 




■ MS a 



Instruments Used in Treating Diseases of Digestive Organs. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate IV. 




I 



Microscopic Anatomy of the Liver. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate V. 




Ergot in Hay. 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept of Agr. 



Plate VI. 




Mar*, from nature 



ICO BALTIMORE 



Ergotism. 



DISEASES OF THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS. 49 

Plate III. — Instruments used in treating diseases of digestive organs — Contd. 
drawn, and the temperature read as in any ordinary thermometer. The 
clinical thermometer is made self-registering ; that is, the mercury in 
the stem remains at the height to which it was forced by the heat of 
the body until it is shaken back into the bull) by taking hold of the 
upper portion of the instrument and giving it a short, sharp swing. 
The normal temperature of cattle varies from 100° to 103° F. In 
young animals it is somewhat higher than in old. The thermometer 
is a very useful instrument and frequently is the means by which 
disease is detected before the appearance of any external sign. 

Fig. 2. Simple probang, used to dislodge foreign bodies, like apples, pota- 
toes, eggs, etc., which have become fastened or stuck in the esophagus 
or gullet. 

Fig. 3. Grasping or forceps probang. This instrument, also intended to 
remove obstructions from the gullet, has a spring forceps at one end in 
the place of the cup-like arrangement at the end of the simple probang. 
The forceps are closed while the probang is being introduced ; their 
blades are regulated by a screw in the handle of the instrument. This 
probang is used to grasp and withdraw an article which may have 
lodged in the .gullet and can not be forced into the stomach by use of 
the simple probang. 

Fig. 4. Wooden gag, used when the probang is to be passed. The gag is a 
piece of wood which fits in the animal's mouth ; a cord passes over the 
head to hold it in place. The central opening in the wood is intended 
for the passage of the probang. 

Figs. 5a and 56. Trocar and cannula ; 5a shows the trocar covered by the 
cannula ; 5b, the cannula from which the trocar has been withdrawn. 
This instrument is used when the rumen or first stomach becomes 
distended with gas. The trocar covered by the cannula is forced into 
the rumen, the trocar withdrawn, and the cannula allowed to remain 
until the gas has escaped. 

Fig. G. Section at right angles through the abdominal wall, showing a 
hernia or rupture. (Taken from D'Arborval. Dictionnaire de Medecine, 
de Chirurgie de Hygiene) : a a, The abdominal muscles cut across; v, 
opening in the abdominal wall permitting the intestines i i to pass 
through and outward between the abdominal wall and the skin ; p p, 
peritoneum, or membrane lining the abdominal cavity, carried through 
the opening o by the loop of intestine and forming the sac S, the outer 
walls of which are marked b f b. 
Plate IV. Microscopic anatomy of the liver. The liver is composed of innu- 
merable small lobules, from -^ to & inch in diameter. The lobules 
are held together by a small amount of fibrous tissue, in which the 
bile ducts and larger blood vessels are lodged. 

Fig. 1 illustrates the structure of a lobule ; v v, interlobular veins or the 
veins between the lobules. These are branches of the portal vein, 
which carries blood from the stomach and intestines to the liver; c c, 
capillaries, or very fine blood vessels, extending as a very fine network 
between the groups of liver cells from the interlobular vein to the 
center of the lobule and emptying there into the intralobular vein to 
the center of the lobule ; v c, intralobular vein, or the vein within the 
lobule. This vessel passes out of the lobule and there becomes the 
sublobular vein ; v s, sublobular vein. This joins other similar veins 
and helps to form the hepatic vein, through which the blood leaves 
33071°— 10— 4 



50 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Plate IV. Microscopic anatomy of the liver — Continued. 

the liver ; d d, the position of the liver cells between the meshes of 
the capillaries ; A A, branches of the hepatic artery to the interlobular 
connective tissue and the walls of the large veins and large bile 
ducts. These branches are seen at r r and form the vena vascularis ; 
v v, vena vascularis ; i i, branches of the hepatic artery entering the 
substance of the lobule and connecting with capillaries from the inter- 
lobular vein. The use of the hepatic artery is to nourish the liver, 
while the other vessels carry blood to be modified by the liver cells in 
certain important directions ; g, branches of the bile ducts, carrying 
bile from the various lobules into the gall bladder and into the intes- 
tines ; x x, intralobular bile capillaries between the liver cells. These 
form a network of very minute tubes surrounding each ultimate cell, 
which receives the bile as it is formed by the liver cells and carried 
outward as described. 
Fig. 2. Isolated liver cells : c, blood capillary ; a, fine bile capillary channel. 

Plate V. Ergot in hay: 1, bluegrass; 2, timothy; 3, wild rye; 4, redtop. 
Ergot is a fungus which may affect any member of the grass family. 
The spore of the fungus, by some means brought in contact with the 
undeveloped seed of the grass, grows, obliterates the seed, and prac- 
tically takes its place. When hay affected with ergot is fed to animals 
it is productive of a characteristic and serious affection or poisoning 
known as ergotism. 

Plate VI. Ergotism, or the effects of ergot. The lower part of the limb of a 
cow, showing the loss of skin and flesh in a narrow ring around the 
pastern bone and the exposure of the bone itself. 



POISONS AND POISONING. 

By V. T. Atkinson, V. S. 
[Revised by C. Dwight Marsh, Ph. D.] 

DEFINITION OF A POISON. 

To define clearly the meaning of the word " poison " would be 
somewhat difficult. Even in law the word has never been defined, 
and when a definition is attempted we are apt to include either too 
much or too little. The following definition given by Husemann is 
perhaps the best : " Poisons are those unorganized substances, inor- 
ganic or organic, existing in the organism or introduced from the 
outside, produced artificially or formed as natural products, which, 
through their chemical nature, under definite conditions, so affect 
some organ of a living organism that the health or well-being of the 
organism is temporarily or chronically injured." The common con- 
ception of a poison is any substance which, in small quantity, will 
destroy life, except such as act by purely mechanical means, as, for 
example, powdered glass. 

Some substances that are not usually looked upon as poisons may 
destroy life if given in large doses, such as common salt. Other sub- 
stances which are perfectly harmless when taken into the body in 
the usual way are poisons if injected into the circulation, such as 
distilled water, milk, or glycerin. Living organisms are not " chem- 
ical substances," and are not considered in this connection. 

SOURCES OF POISONING. 

Poisoning may come from many causes, among the chief of which 
are the following: 

(1) Errors in medication. — By using the wrong substance or too 
large dose an animal may be poisoned. 

(2) The exposure of poisons used for horticultural, technical, or 
other legitimate purposes. — Poisons used for spraying plants, disin- 
fecting, poisoning vermin, dipping cattle or sheep, painting, smelt- 
ing, dyeing, or other purposes may be so handled as to come within 
the reach of animals. 

(3) Damaged food. — Food that has undergone putrefaction or cer- 
tain kinds of fermentation or heating, may have become poisonous, 
producing forage poisoning, meat poisoning, cheese poisoning, etc. 

(4) Poisonous plants in the pasture or forage. 

(5) The bite or sting of a poisonous insect or the bite of an animal. 

(6) Malicious poisoning. 

51 



52 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

THE ACTION OF POISONS. 

The action of poisons may be either local, and exerted directly on 
the tissues with which they come in contact, or remote, acting through 
the circulation or the nervous system ; or both local and remote action 
may be exerted by the same drug. Poisons which act locally gener- 
ally either destroy by corrosion the tissues with which they come in 
contact or by inhalation set up acute inflammation. When any cor- 
rosive agent is taken into the stomach in poisonous quantities, a group 
of symptoms is developed which is common to all. The tissues with 
which the agent comes in contact are destroyed, sloughing and acute 
inflammation of the surrounding structures take place; intense pain 
in the abdomen and death ensue. In a like manner, but with less 
rapidity, the same result is reached if the agent used be not of a suffi- 
ciently corrosive nature to destroy the tissues, but sufficiently irritat- 
ing to set up acute inflammation of the mucous membrane of the 
digestive tract. If the poison exerts a remote influence alone, the 
action is quite different, little or no local effect being produced upon 
the digestive organs. 

To produce an effect on some part of the body distant from the 
channel of entrance, a poison must have been absorbed and carried 
in the blood to the central nervous system or other region involved. 
The poisonous effect of any substance is modified by the quantity 
used ; by its chemical combinations ; by the part of the animal struc- 
ture with which it comes in contact ; by the physical condition of the 
subject; and also by the rapidity with which the poison is excreted. 
As an illustration, opium may be given with safety in much larger 
doses to an animal suffering from acute pain than to one free from 
pain, and to an adult animal with greater safety than to a young one. 
The rapidity with which the poison is absorbed, owing to the part of 
the body with which it is brought in contact, is also an important 
factor. So marked is this quality that some agents which have the 
power of destroying life with almost absolute certainty when intro- 
duced beneath the skin, may be taken into the stomach without caus- 
ing inconvenience, as curara, the arrow poisons, or the venomous 
secretion of snakes. Other agents in chemical combination may 
tend to intensify, lessen, or wholly neutralize the poisonous effect. 
For example, arsenic in itself has well-marked poisonous properties, 
but when brought in contact with dialyzed iron it forms an insoluble 
compound and becomes innocuous. Idiosyncrasies are not so notice- 
able in cattle practice as in practice among human beings, but the 
uncertainty with which some drugs exert their influence would lead 
us to believe that well-marked differences in susceptibility exist. 
Even in some cases a tolerance for poison is engendered, so that in a 



POISONS AND POISONING. 53 

herd of animals equally exposed injurious or fatal effects do not 
appear with uniformity. For example, among cattle that are com- 
pelled to drink water holding in solution a salt of lead the effects of 
the poisoning will be found varying all the way from fatality to 
imperceptibility. 

GENERAL SYMPTOMS OF POISONING. 

It is not always easy to differentiate between poisoning and some 
disease. Indeed, examination during the life of the animal is some- 
times wholly inadequate to the formation of an opinion as to whether 
the case is one of poisoning or, if it is, as to what the poison may be. 
A chemical and physical examination after the death of the animal 
may be necessary to clear up the doubt. On the other hand, the 
symptoms may be of such a nature as to point unmistakably to poi- 
soning with a certain agent. In general, the following classes of 
symptoms may be regarded as indicative of poisoning : Sudden onset 
of the disease without visible cause, a number of animals being simi- 
larly affected at once, with severe gastrointestinal disorder or de- 
rangement of the nervous system, or both ; sudden alteration of heart 
action in relation to frequency, force, or rhythm; local irritation, 
dyspnea, or change in the urine or urination. 

After death, lesions of the greatest variety may be found, and it is 
necessary for one to be skilled in anatomy and pathology in order 
.to determine their significance. Oftentimes the stomach and intes- 
tines are red, have thick walls, and contain blood. This signifies a 
severe irritant, such as arsenic or corrosive sublimate. Other altera- 
tions sometimes found are inflammation of the kidneys or bladder, 
points of hemorrhage in various organs, changes in the blood, con- 
gestion of the lungs, and certain microscopic changes. 

GENERAL TREATMENT. 

The treatment of animals suffering from poison must vary accord- 
ing to the nature of the toxic agent. There are a few general plans 
of action, however, which should be followed so far as possible. In 
man and in some of the smaller animals it is possible to eliminate 
unabsorbed poison by the use of the stomach pump or by causing 
vomiting. These proceedings are impracticable in cattle. It is 
well, therefore, in many cases to endeavor to expel the unabsorbed 
poison by emptying the digestive tract, so far as may be, with a 
nonirritating purge. Castor oil in doses of 1 pint to 2 quarts is 
adapted to this purpose. If the poison is known to be nonirritant — 
as a narcotic plant — from 10 to 20 drops of croton oil may be given 
with a quart of castor oil. When poisons are somewhat prolonged in 
their effect, Epsom salt in doses of 1 pound can be given advantage- 



54 « DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ously. To protect the mucous membrane from the action of strong 
irritants, one may give flaxseed tea, barley water, the whites of eggs, 
milk, butter, olive oil, or fresh lard. Chemical antidotes may some- 
times be used for special poisons, as advised below. In general, if 
an acid has been taken it may be neutralized with an alkali, such as 
chalk, magnesia, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ammonia 
(diluted), or soap. If the poison is an alkali, such as caustic soda 
or potash (lye), or ammonia, an acid, such as diluted (1 per cent) 
sulphuric acid or vinegar, may be administered. Special treatments 
and antidotes are considered below. 

A poisonous agent may be so gradually introduced into the system 
as to slowly develop the power of resistance against its own action. 
In other cases where the poison is introduced slowly the poisonous 
action becomes accumulative, and, although there is no increase in the 
quantity taken, violent symptoms are suddenly developed, as if the 
whole amount, the consumption of which may have extended over 
a considerable period, had been given in one dose. Other agents, 
poisonous in their nature, tend to deteriorate some of the important 
organs, and, interfering with their natural functions, are productive 
of conditions of ill health which, although not necessarily fatal, are 
important. Such might properly be called chronic poisons. Poisons 
of themselves dangerous when administered in large doses are 
used medicinally for curative purposes, and a very large percentage 
of the pharmaceutical preparations used in the practice of medicine 
if given in excessive quantities may produce serious results. In the 
administration of medicines, therefore, care should be exercised not 
only that the animal is not poisoned by the administration of an 
excessive dose but that injury is not done by continued treatment 
with medicines the administration of which is not called for. 

MINERAL POISONS. 

ARSENIC POISONING. 

Of the common irritant and corrosive poisons, arsenic, especially 
one of its compounds (Paris green), is likely to be the most danger- 
ous to our class of patients. The common practice of using Paris 
green and other compounds of arsenic as insecticides for the destruc- 
tion of potato beetle and other insect enemies of the farmer and fruit 
grower has had the effect of introducing it into almost all farming 
establishments. White arsenic is also a principal ingredient in many 
of the popular sheep-dipping preparations, and poisoning from this 
source occasionally takes place when, after dipping, the flock are 
allowed to run in a yard in which there is loose fodder. The drip- 



POISONS AND POISONING. 55 

pings from the wool of the sheep falling on the fodder render it 
poisonous and dangerous to animal life if eaten. Familiarity with 
its use has in many instances tended to breed contempt for its 
potency as a poison. Rat poisons often contain arsenic. The exces- 
sive use of arsenic as a tonic, or of " condition powders " containing 
arsenic, has been the means of poisoning many animals. This is the 
common poison used by malicious persons with criminal intent. The 
poison may also be absorbed through wounds or through the skin if 
used as a dip or bath. 

If a large dose is given, at once acute poisoning is produced; if 
repeated small doses are given, chronic poisoning may result. The 
poisonous dose for an ox is from 3 drams to 1 ounce. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of acute poisoning first appear as those 
of colic; the animal is restless, stamping with the feet, lying down 
and getting up. There is tenderness on pressure over the abdomen. 
The acute symptoms increase; in a few hours violent diarrhea is 
developed ; in many cases blood and shreds of detached mucous mem- 
brane are mixed with the evacuations. There is irregular and feeble 
pulse and respiration, and death is likely to supervene between the 
eighteenth hour and the third day. If the latter period is passed, 
there is a reasonable hope of recovery. 

In chronic poisoning the symptoms are similar to those of chronic 
gastrointestinal catarrh, with indigestion, diarrhea, and general 
weakness and loss of condition. 

Treatment. — The antidote for arsenic is a solution of hydrated 
oxid of iron in water. It should be prepared fresh by mixing a solu- 
tion of sulphate of iron, made by dissolving 4 ounces of sulphate of 
iron in one-half pint water, with a suspension of 1 ounce of magnesia 
in one-half pint water. This quantity is sufficient for one dose for a 
cow and may be repeated in an hour, if much arsenic was taken. A 
solution of calcined magnesia or powdered iron or iron filings or iron 
scale from a blacksmith's forge may be given in the absence of other 
remedies. Powdered sulphur is of some value as an antidote. One 
must also administer protectives, such as linseed tea, barley water, 
whites of eggs, etc. 

LEAD POISONING. 

Lead poisoning of cattle sometimes comes from their having licked 
freshly painted surfaces and thus swallowed compounds containing 
white lead. In several instances cattle have been poisoned by silage 
from a silo painted inside with lead paint shortly before filling. 
Sometimes cattle eat dried paint scrapings with apparent relish and 
are poisoned. Cattle grazing on rifle ranges have been poisoned by 
lead from the bullets. Sugar of lead has been administered by mis- 



56 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

take for Glauber's salt. Lead poisoning may be acute or chronic. 
The fatal dose of sugar of lead is from 1 to 4 ounces. Water drawn 
from lead pipes or held in a lead-lined tank may cause poisoning. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are generally dullness, lying down with 
the head turned toward the flank, colic, rumbling in the abdomen, loss 
of "control of the limbs when walking, twitching, champing of the 
jaws, moving in a circle, convulsions, delirium, violent bellowing, fol- 
lowed by stupor and death. The symptoms generally extend over 
considerable time but may end in death after 24 hours. 

Treatment. — The treatment should first be directed toward remov- 
ing the cause. A large dose of purgative medicine should be given, 
and the brain symptoms be relieved by giving bromid of potas- 
sium in half -ounce doses every 4 or 5 hours and by the application of 
cold water to the head. Dilute sulphuric acid in half-ounce doses 
should be given with the purgative medicine. In this case sulphate 
of magnesia (Epsom salt) is the best purgative, and it may be given 
in doses of from 1 to 2 pounds dissolved in warm water. After the 
acute symptoms have abated, iodid of potassium may be given, in 
doses of 2 drams each, three times a day for a week. 

Chronic lead poisoning occasionally occurs in districts where lead 
mining is the principal industry. The waste products of the mine 
thrown into streams contaminate the water supply, so that the min- 
eral is taken into the system gradually, and a very small per cent of 
any of the salts taken into the system in this way is pernicious. 
Water which contains any salt of lead to the extent of more than 
one-tenth of a grain to the gallon is unfit to drink. Such water when 
used continually is likely to produce colic from the resulting intesti- 
nal irritation, and in aggravated cases paralysis more or less severe 
is likely to be developed. A blue line on the margin of the gums, 
the last symptom, is regarded as diagnostic and its presence as con- 
clusive evidence of the nature of the disorder. The free use of pur- 
gatives is indicated with iodid of potassium. 

Treatment. — No treatment is likely to be of avail until the cause is 
removed. 

COPPER POISONING. 

The soluble salts of copper, though used as a tonic in the medicinal 
treatment of cattle, are poisonous when taken in large quantities. 
Like lead and arsenic, they have an irritant effect upon the mucous 
membrane with which they come in contact in a concentrated form. 
Cattle are not very likely to be poisoned from this cause unless 
through carelessness. Sulphate of copper, commonly called blue 
vitriol, is occasionally used for disinfecting and cleansing stables, 
where it might inadvertently be mixed with the feed. It is also used 
largely for making the Bordeaux mixture used in spraying fruit 



POISONS AND POISONING. 57 

trees. The general symptoms produced are those of intestinal irrita- 
tion, short breathing, stamping, and tender abdomen. 

Treatment. — Give powdered iron, or iron reduced by hydrogen, or 
calcined magnesia. Sulphur may be used. This should be followed 
by a liberal supply of demulcents, linseed infusion, boiled starch, 
whites of eggs, etc. 

ZINC POISONING. 

Several of the soluble salts of zinc are irritant poisons. The 
chlorid and sulphate are those in most common use. In animals 
which have power to vomit they are emetic in their action. In 
others, when retained in the stomach, they set up more or less irri- 
tation of the mucous membrane and abdominal pain, producing 
symptoms already described in the action of other poisons which 
produce the same. result. 

Treatment. — The treatment should be the same as for copper poi- 
soning. 

PHOSPHORUS POISONING. 

Only one of the forms of phosphorus in common use — the ordinary 
yellow — is poisonous. Phosphorus in this form is used for the 
destruction of rats and mice and other vermin, and has been largely 
used in the manufacture of matches. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are loss of appetite, colic, diarrhea, 
irritation of the mouth and throat, and paralysis of the throat. 
There is also weakness, difficult breathing, and rapid pulse. The 
course of the poisoning is usually rapid, terminating in either recov- 
ery or death within three days. The toxic dose for cattle is from 
5 to 30 grains. If taken in large quantities the excreta are occa- 
sionally noticed to be luminous when examined in the dark. 

Treatment. — Turpentine is given in an emulsion with flaxseed tea in 
a single dose of from 2 to 8 ounces. Permanganate of potassium may 
be given in a one-fourth of 1 per cent solution. Stimulants, such 
as alcohol and ether, should be administered. Oils and milk must 
not be given. 

MERCURY POISONING. 

Mercury poisoning is not rare in cattle from the fact that these 
animals have a special susceptibility to the action of this substance. 
Antiseptic washes or injections containing the bichlorid of mercury 
(corrosive sublimate) must be used on cattle with great care. Mer- 
curial disinfecting solutions or salves must be used cautiously. 
Calomel can not be given freely to cattle. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are salivation, sore mouth, indiges- 
tion, diarrhea, skin eruption, paralysis of local groups of muscles, 
and nephritis. 



58 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Treatment. — The treatment consists in administering sulphur in 
large doses (2 to 4 ounces) or iron powder. Both make insoluble 
compounds with mercury. Follow with the whites of eggs mixed 
with water and with linseed tea. If the case does not terminate 
promptly, give iodid of potash in 1-dram doses twice daily. 

POISONING BY ACIDS. 

Mineral acids. — The mineral acids — nitric, sulphuric, hydrochlo- 
ric, etc. — when used in a concentrated form destroy the animal 
tissues with which they come in contact, and in this respect differ 
from most of the poisons previously described. When taken into 
the stomach the mucous membrane of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, 
and stomach is apt to be more or less completely destroyed. If taken 
in large quantities death is likely to result so speedily that nothing 
can be done to relieve the patient, and even if time is allowed and the 
action of the acid can be arrested it can not be done until consider- 
able and, perhaps, irreparable damage has been done. The mucous 
membrane with which the acid has come in contact in the esophagus 
may be destroyed by its corrosive action and carried away, leaving 
the muscular tissues exposed. The raw surface heals irregularly, 
the cicatrice contracting causes stricture, and an animal so injured 
is likely to die of starvation. In the stomach even greater damage 
is likely to be done. The peristaltic action of the esophagus carries 
the irritant along quickly, but here it remains quiet in contact with 
one surface, destroying it. It is likely to perforate the organ and, 
coming in contact with the abdominal lining or other organs of di- 
gestion, soon sets up a condition that is beyond repair. In a less 
concentrated form, when this is not sufficiently strong to be corrosive, 
it exerts an irritant effect. In this form it may not do much harm 
unless taken in considerable quantity. When thus the mucous 
membrane of the stomach and intestines becomes inflamed- pain and 
diarrhea are likely to result. 

Treatment. — Any of the alkalies may be used as an antidote. 
Most convenient of these are chalk, baking soda, marble dust, mag- 
nesia, lime, soap, or plaster from a wall. Mucilaginous drinks 
should be given in large quantities. 

Vegetable acids. — Oxalic acid in particular is corrosive in its 
action when taken in concentrated solution, losing its corrosive 
effect and becoming irritant when more dilute. It also exerts a 
specific effect on the heart, frequently causing death from syncope. 
Taken in the form either of the crystals or solution it is likely to 
cause death in a very short time. Failure of heart action and the 
attendant small pulse, weakness, staggering, and convulsions are the 
more noticeable symptoms. Acetic acid is irritant to the gastro- 
intestinal tract, and may cause sudden paralysis of the heart. 



POISONS AND POISONING. 59 

Treatment. — The action of the acid should be counteracted by the 
use of alkalies, as advised above, by limewater or lime or plaster 
given promptly, by protectives to the digestive tract, and by stimu- 
lants. 

POISONING BY ALKALIES. 

The carbonates of potash and soda and the alkalies themselves in 
concentrated form cause symptoms of intestinal irritation similar to 
those produced by mineral acids. Ammonia, caustic soda, and caus- 
tic potash (lye) are those to which animals are most exposed. The 
degree of their caustic irritant effects depends on their degree of 
concentration. When they reach the stomach the symptoms are 
nearly as well marked as in the case of the acids. The irritation is 
even more noticeable, and purgation is likely to be a more prominent 
symptom. If death is not caused soon, the irritation of the gastro- 
intestinal tract and malnutrition will last for a long time. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists in neutralizing the alkali by an 
acid, such as dilute sulphuric acid (1 per cent) or strong vinegar. 
The administration of such an antidote and its action must be care- 
fully watched during administration. In the chemical change which 
takes place when the acid and alkali are combined, carbonic-acid gas 
is liberated, which may be to an extent sufficient to cause considerable 
distention of the abdomen, and even to produce asphyxia from pres- 
sure forward on the diaphragm. Should this danger present itself, 
it may be averted by opening the flank, permitting the gas to escape. 
(See "Acute tympanites, or Bloating," p. 22.) Flaxseed or slippery- 
elm decoction must be given to sooth the inflamed mucous surface. 
Opium may be used to allay pain. 

COAL-OIL POISONING. 

Coal oil is sometimes administered empirically as a treatment for 
intestinal parasites. If given in large doses it produces poisonous 
effects, which are likely to be manifested some time after the adminis- 
tration. It acts as an irritant to the digestive tract, causing drib- 
bling of ropy saliva from the mouth, diarrhea, tenesmus, and loss 
of appetite, with increased temperature and cold extremities. Visible 
mucous membranes are injected, pupils of the eyes are contracted, 
and there is a watery discharge from the eyes and nostrils. Ee- 
motely it exerts a depressing influence on the functions of the brain 
and slight coma, and occasionally convulsions, from which the animal 
is easily aroused. The kidneys also suffer. The urine is dark 
colored and has the characteristic odor of coal oil. Death may re- 
sult from gastroenteritis or convulsions. 

Treatment. — The patient's strength should be fostered by the fre- 
quent administration of mild stimulants, of which aromatic spirits 



60 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of ammonia is perhaps the best. The animal should be encouraged 
to eat soft feed and given mucilaginous drinks. 

Crude coal oil is sometimes applied to the skin to kill parasites. 
If too much is used, especially in hot weather, great weakness and 
depression may be caused and in some cases death may result. 

CARBOLIC-ACID POISONING. 

Although one of the most valuable antiseptic remedies, carbolic 
acid in a concentrated form, when taken internally or used over a 
large surface externally, is likely to produce poisonous effects. It 
causes whitening, shrinking, and numbness of the structures with 
which it comes in contact, and, besides its irritant effect, exerts a 
powerful influence on the nervous system. Being readily absorbed, 
it produces its effect whether swallowed, injected into the rectum, 
inhaled, or applied to wounds, or even to a large tract of unbroken 
skin. Used extensively as a dressing, it may produce nausea, dizzi- 
ness, and smoky or blackish colored urine. The last symptom is 
nearly always noticeable where the poisonous effect is produced. In 
more concentrated form, or used in larger quantities, convulsions, 
followed by fatal coma, are likely to take place. Even in smaller 
quantities, dullness, trembling, and disinclination for food often 
continue for several days. In a tolerably concentrated solution it 
coagulates albumen and acts as an astringent. 

Treatment. — As an antidote internally, a solution of sulphate of 
soda or sulphate of magnesia (Glauber's or Epsom salt) may be 
given. The white of egg is also useful. Stimulants may be given if 
needed. When the poisoning occurs through too extensive applica- 
tions to wounds or the skin, as in treatment of mange, cold water 
should be freely applied so as to wash off any of the acid that may 
still remain unabsorbed. As a surgical dressing a 3 per cent solu- 
tion is strong enough for ordinary purposes. Water will not hold 
more than 5 per cent in permanent solution. No preparation 
stronger than the saturated solution should be used medicinally 
under any circumstances. 

SALTPETER POISONING. 

Both nitrate of soda and nitrate of potassium are poisonous to cattle. 
These substances are used for manure and for preserving meats. 
They may be administered in a drench by error in place of Glauber's 
salt, or they may be exposed within reach of cattle and thus be eaten. 
The toxic dose depends upon the condition of fullness of the stomach. 
If in solution and given on an empty stomach, as little as 3 ounces of 
saltpeter (nitrate of potassium) may be fatal to a cow. More of the 
Chile saltpeter (nitrate of soda) is required to cause serious trouble. 



POISONS AND POISONING. 61 

Symptoms. — Severe gastroenteritis, colic, tympanites, diarrhea, 
excessive urination, weakness, trembling, convulsions, collapse. 
Treatment. — Same as for poisoning by common salt. 

POISONING BY COMMON SALT. 

A few pounds (3 to 5) of common salt will produce well-marked 
signs of poisoning in cattle. So much salt as this will not be taken 
by cattle except under unusual conditions. If the feed is poor in 
salt, and if no salt has been given for a long time, an intense " salt 
hunger" may occur that may lead an animal to eat a poisonous 
quantity if it is not restricted; or an overdose of salt may be given 
by error as a drench. 

Herring and mackerel brine and pork pickle are also poisonous, 
and are especially dangerous for hogs. In these substances there 
are, in addition to salt, certain products extracted from the fish or 
meat which undergo change and add to the toxicity of the solution. 
Sometimes saltpeter is present in such brines. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are great thirst, abdominal pain, diar- 
rhea, poor appetite, redness and dryness of the mouth, increased 
urifl*t5on, paralysis of the hind legs, weak pulse, general paralysis, 
coma, and death in from six to eight hours. 

Treatment. — Allow as much warm water as the animal will drink ; 
give protectives, such as linseed tea, etc. Linseed or olive oil may 
be given. To keep up the heart action give ether, alcohol, camphor, 
digitalis, or coffee. To allay pain, give opium. 

VEGETABLE POISONS. 

Vegetable poisons may be divided into two classes — those that 
are likely to be administered to the animal as medicine, and such 
as may be taken in the feed, either in the shape of poisonous plants 
or as plants or feeds of vegetable origin that have been damaged 
by fungi or by bacteria which have produced fermentation or putre- 
faction. 

VEGETABLE POISONS USED AS MEDICINE. 

OPIUM (MORPHIN, LAUDANUM) POISONING. 

Opium and its alkaloid, morphia, are so commonly used in the 
practice of medicine that the poisonous result of an overdose is not 
uncommon. The common preparations are gum opium, the inspis- 
sated juice of the poppy ; powdered opium, made from the gum ; 
tincture of opium, commonly called laudanum; and the alkaloid or 
active principle, morphia. Laudanum has about one-eighth the 
strength of the gum or powder. Morphia is present in good opium 
to the extent of about 10 per cent. In medicine it is a most useful 
agent in allaying pain. It first produces a stimulating action, 



62 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

which is followed by drowsiness, a disposition to sleep or complete 
anesthesia, depending on the quantity of the drug used. In poi- 
sonous doses a state of exhilaration is well marked at first. This 
is particularly noticeable in cattle and in horses. The animal be- 
comes much excited, and this stage does not pass into insensibility 
unless an enormous dose has been given. If the dose is large enough, 
a second stage sometimes supervenes, in which the symptoms are 
those of congestion of the brain. The visible membranes have a 
bluish tint (cyanotic) from interference with the air supply. The 
breathing is slow, labored, and later stertorous; the pupils of the 
eyes are very much contracted; the skin dry and warm. Gas accu- 
mulates in the stomach, so that tympanites is a prominent symptom. 
The patient may be aroused by great noise or the infliction of sharp 
pain, when the breathing becomes more natural. A lapse into the 
comatose condition takes place when the excitement ceases. Later, 
there is perfect coma and the patient can no longer be aroused from 
the insensible condition. The contraction of the pupil becomes more 
marked, the breathing intermittent and slower, there is perspiration, 
the pulse more feeble and rapid, till death takes place. Poisoning of 
cattle with opium or its products rarely goes beyond the^fcafc of 
excitement, because the quantity of the drug required for the^iter 
effects is so great. Seventy-five grains of morphia administered sub- 
cutaneously has sufficed merely to excite for 12 hours. 

Treatment. — Give strong coffee, 1 to 4 quarts, aromatic spirits of 
ammonia or carbonate of ammonia. Atropia is the physiological 
antidote. 

STRYCHNIN POISONING. 

Strychnin is a very concentrated poison and produces its effect 
very quickly, usually only a few minutes being necessary if given in 
sufficient dose and in such a way that it will be 'at once absorbed. 
When employed as a medicine, as a rule, minimum doses should be 
used, as cattle are quite susceptible to its effects and may be killed 
by the maximum doses given in the common manuals of veterinary 
medicine. The first noticeable symptom is evidence of unrest or 
mental excitement; at the same time the muscles over the shoulder 
and croup may be seen to quiver or twitch, and later there occurs a 
more or less well-marked convulsion; the head is jerked back, the 
back arched and leg extended, the eyes drawn. The spasm continues 
for only a few minutes, when it relaxes and another occurs in a short 
time. The return is hastened by excitement and in a short time 
again disappears, continuing to disappear and reappear until death 
results. As the poisonous effect advances the intervals between the 
spasms become shorter and less marked and the spasms more severe 
until the animal dies in violent struggles. 



POISONS AND POISONING. 63 

Treatment. — The best method is to put the patient under the influ- 
ence of chloral, chloroform, or ether, and keep it there continuously 
until the effect of the poison has passed off. Alcohol may be given 
in large doses. 

ACONITE POISONING. 

In recent years tincture of aconite has become a popular stable 
remedy. If an animal is ailing, aconite is given whether indicated 
or not. Fortunately the dose used is generally small, and for this 
reason the damage done is much less than it would otherwise be. 
Aconite is one of the most deadly poisons known. It produces 
paralysis of motion and sensation, depresses the heart's action, and 
causes death by paralysis of respiration. In large doses it causes 
profuse salivation, champing of the jaws, and attempts at swallow- 
ing. If not sufficient to cause death, there is impaired appetite with 
more or less nausea for some time after. In poisonous doses it causes 
the animal to tremble violently, to lose power to support itself, and 
brings on slight convulsions, with perspiration. The pulse is de- 
pressed, irregular, and afterwards intermittent. 

Treatment. — The chemical antidote is tannic acid, which forms an 
insoluble compound with the aconitin. The depressing effect on the 
heart should be counterated by the use of ammonia, digitalis, alcohol, 
camphor, or other diffusible stimulants, which have a physiological 
effect opposite to aconite. 

POISONOUS PLANTS. 

An important group of poisons may be classed under this head. 
In some cases it is poison naturally belonging to the plant; in other 
cases the poisonous principle is developed in what would otherwise 
be harmless plants as a plant disease, or as a fermentation or putre- 
faction due to bacterial growth and observed in forage, grain, or 
meal that has become heated, damaged, or " spoilt." 

The subject of poisonous plants is an important one and is of 
especial interest to those using the western stock ranges, for it is 
probable that there is no other single cause producing so many fatali- 
ties. In this article only a few of the more important plants are 
treated in a brief way, for an extended treatise would be necessary 
if the subject were to be handled adequately. Further information 
should be sought in the more elaborate publications. Many of the 
American poisonous plants have been treated in bulletins issued 
from the United States Department of Agriculture. 

Treatment for plant poisoning. — Remedies given by the mouth in 
most cases fail to give relief to cattle affected by poisonous plants. 
The material of the poisonous plant in the first stomach is not very 
largely affected by a remedy given as a drench. If any beneficial 



64 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

result is effected, it must be on the material which has already passed 
into the fourth stomach, so that to get any real antidotal result the 
remedy must be given repeatedly in order to meet the alkaloid poi- 
sons as they are passing through the fourth stomach. While certain 
substances like tannic acid and potassium permanganate are the 
logical antidotes for plant poisons, in practical application they are 
very disappointing in the treatment of ruminant animals. Reliance 
must be mainly on prevention and upon such remedies as will in- 
crease elimination. A laxative or purgative is always helpful, and 
for this purpose Epsom salt may be given in pound doses, or linseed 
oil in doses of 1 or 2 pints. In some few cases special remedies can 
be given as is indicated below. 

ACORNS. 

Many cases of the poisoning of cattle by acorns have been reported 
in England and Germany, and there have been some complaints in 
the United States. Harmful results do not seem likely to occur 
except as the acorns are eaten in a considerable quantity, and a 
change of diet ordinarily leads to recovery. The most prominent 
symptoms are depression and constipation, followed by diarrhea. 

HORSE CHESTNUT— BUCKEYE. 

All the species of JEsculus, popularly known as horse chestnut or 
buckeye, are considered poisonous. The bark, leaves, and fruit are 
injurious. It is said that if the fruit is boiled or roasted and washed 
out it becomes harmless and even is a desirable addition to the feed 
of cattle. The Indians in time of scarcity of food have used the fruit 
after preparing it in this way. The buckeyes are said to have a 
specific effect in producing abortion in cattle and goats. 

FLY POISON— CHROSPERMA. 

This plant, belonging to the lily family, and sometimes known as 
" stagger grass," causes a considerable loss in the Southern States. 
It grows earlier than the grasses, and on this account is more likely 
to be eaten. It is very poisonous. It produces pronounced nausea, 
resulting in vomiting and weakness, and in cases which recover the 
effects may continue for several days. Apparently the injurious 
effects are more common in the case of cattle than in other domestic 
animals. There is no known way of treating these animals, though 
doubtless purgatives would be beneficial. 

YEW (TAXUS BACCATA). 

The European yew has long been known as a very poisonous plant. 
It is cultivated in America, and while cases of poisoning have not 
been common, it is well to recognize its dangerous character. A 



POISONS AND POISONING. 65 

comparatively small dose is poisonous and ordinarily acts with great 
rapidity. It causes respiratory paralysis and the animal dies in 
convulsions. 

LAUREL. 

The laurels, including the broad-leafed laurel, Katorda latifolia, 
the narrow-leafed laurel, Kahrda angustifolm, the rhododendrons, 
and other closely related plants are poisonous and cause considerable 
losses. It is dangerous to let cattle graze where these plants are 
abundant at times when other forage is scarce. The symptoms are 
salivation, nausea and vomiting, spasms, dizziness, stupor, and death. 

FERN. 

The common brake or bracken fern, Pteris aqwilina, has been con- 
sidered responsible for the poisoning of many horses and cattle. 
Many cases have been reported in England and Germany, and some 
well-authenticated cases in the United States. Very little has been 
learned experimentally of fern poisoning, but there seems to be little 
question that it has been the cause of many deaths. The symptoms 
are said to be temperature higher than normal, loss of appetite, 
bloody discharges from mouth, nose, and bowels, and great depres- 
sion followed by coma and death. Some authors say that the urine 
is colored by blood. It is thought by some that the disease known as 
" red water " in the northwestern United States and Canada is 
caused by eating ferns. 

SORGHUM POISONING. 

Under certain conditions sorghum contains enough hydrocyanic 
acid to make it exceedingly dangerous to cattle. These cases of poi- 
soning most commonly occur when cattle are pastured upon the 
young plant or upon a field where the crop has been cut and is mak- 
ing a second growth. Conditions of drought make the sorghum 
especially dangerous. There is some reason to think that the frosted 
second growth is particularly rich in hydrocyanic acid. The cases 
of poisoning occur when animals are grazed upon the plant, but not 
from the harvested crop or from silage. If cattle are grazed on 
sorghum or sorghum stubble they should at first be under constant 
observation and should be removed as soon as any signs of illness 
appear. Similar precautions should be used in grazing kafir. 

CORNSTALK DISEASE. 

Considerable losses of cattle have occurred when they were turned 

upon cornfields in the fall. Deaths come very suddenly and there 

is no opportunity to apply remedies. It has been thought that these 

fatalities, like those from sorghum, were caused by hydrocyanic acid, 

33071°— 16 5 



66 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

but there is good reason to think that this is not true, and at the 
present time there is no accepted explanation of this disease, al- 
though there seems to be no doubt that it is connected in some way 
with the condition of the corn. Whether a given field is poisonous 
or not can only be determined by experiment, and the wise farmer 
will keep his cattle under close observation when they are first turned 
into a cornfield. 

WATER HEMLOCK (CICUTA). 

This plant, growing in wet places by ditches and along creeks, 
is the most poisonous of North American plants. The root is the 
poisonous part, and cattle generally get it when it is plowed up or 
washed out by high water. Sometimes they pull it up, for the plant 
occasionally grows out into ditches so that the whole plant will be 
taken in grazing. The most marked symptoms of Cicuta poisoning 
are the violent convulsions, which remind one of the effect of 
strychnin. 

Treatment. — Little can be done in the way of treatment. The 
logical thing is to attempt to control the convulsions by means of 
morphia, but in view of the fact that the stomach can not be emptied, 
the prognosis is not good, and most cases die. 

LARKSPURS. 

The larkspurs are a source of heavy loss to cattle owners in the 
higher ranges of the West. There are a number of species, growing 
at altitudes from 4,000 feet to timber line, and all are poisonous. 
Some few cases of poisoning by larkspurs have been reported in the 
eastern United States, but most of the losses are confined to the 
West, both because larkspurs grow there in greater profusion and 
because cattle are grazed in that region on the open ranges. The 
losses are confined to cattle, for sheep and horses can graze on lark- 
spur with no resulting harm. Most of the larkspur losses occur in 
the spring and early summer, as the plants lose their toxicity after 
maturing. 

Symptoms. — Larkspur poisoning is accompanied by a definite line 
of symptoms. In range animals the first symptom noted is generally 
the sudden falling of the animal and consequent inability to rise. 
After a while it may rise, only to fall again. This may happen re- 
peatedly. In severe cases the animal lies prone and exhibits nausea, 
accompanied by vomiting. It dies of respiratory paralysis, death 
many times being hastened by the asphyxia following the vomiting. 

Treatment. — The animal, if found down, should be turned so that 
its head is uphill in order to relieve the lungs. Many cases will 
recover with no further treatment. Nearlv all cases will recover 



POISONS AND POISONING. 67 

if a hypodermic injection is given immediately of physostigmin 
salicylate 1 grain, pilocarpin hydrochlorid 2 grains, strychnin sul- 
phate ^ grain. 

LOCO. 

The loco plants have caused especially heavy losses of cattle, horses, 
and sheep. They grow in the semiarid regions of the West and some- 
times in great luxuriance. The best known are the " woolly loco " 
or "purple loco" and the "white loco" or "rattle weed." The 
purple loco, Astragalus mollissimus, is common in Texas and the 
adjoining States and extends north as far as Nebraska and Colorado. 
It is especially destructive to horses. The white loco, Oxytr&pis lam- 
berti, is still more widely distributed, being found in the plains 
region from Alaska to Mexico and west of the Rocky Mountains to 
central Utah. The white loco is much more important than the 
purple loco, for it affects not only horses but cattle and sheep. These 
plants belong to the pea family, and there are a number of other 
species of this family in Arizona, New Mexico, and California that 
are loco plants and produce the same symptoms. Just how many of 
these loco plants there are is not known, as definite experimental work 
has been carried on only in the cases of the white loco and the purple 
loco. 

Symptoms. — Loco poisoning is a chronic condition and symptoms 
are shown only after somewhat prolonged feeding. The condition 
is one of cumulative poisoning, and animals sometimes decline very 
rapidly after the first symptoms appear. In many cases animals 
acquire a habit of eating loco and prefer it to any other feed. The 
poison affects the central nervous system. There is a lack of mus- 
cular coordination and the animal performs very erratic movements. 
In the later stages the animal becomes emaciated and eventually dies 
of starvation. 

Treatment. — Locoed animals are badly constipated, and it is im- 
portant that this condition should be remedied at the start. Any 
purgative can be used, but Epsom salt has been found especially 
effective. If locoed animals can be turned into a field of alfalfa, a 
large proportion of them will recover with no further treatment. 
Recovery may be aided by giving cattle, hypodermically, daily doses 
of three-twentieths to four-twentieths grain of strychnin. By this 
treatment cattle can be cured and put in condition for market. 

ERGOTISM. 

The poisonous effects of ergot (Pis. V, VI) appear chiefly in the 
winter and spring of the year and among cattle. It is developed 
among grasses grown on rich soil in hot, damp seasons. Rye seems 
more liable to ergot than any of our other crops. Of the grasses 



68 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

which enter into the composition of hay, bluegrass is the most likely 
to become affected. Ergot may also affect recltop, oats, grasses, 
and grains. On the plant the fungus manifests itself on the seeds, 
where it is easily recognized when the hay is examined in the mow. 
The ergotized seeds are several times larger than the natural seeds — 
hard, black, and generally curved in shape. 

The effect of the protracted use of ergot in the feed is pretty well 
understood to be that of producing a degeneration and obstruction 
of the smaller arterial branches. The result is to shut off the blood 
supply to the distal parts of the body, where the circulation is weak- 
est, and thus to produce a mummification or dry gangrene of the 
extremities, as the ears, tail, feet, etc. Cattle seem to be more suscep- 
tible than other animals to the influence of ergot, possibly on account 
of the slowness of the heart's action. When the effect of the poison 
has become sufficient to entirely arrest the circulation in any part, the 
structures soon die. The disorder manifests itself as lameness in one 
or more limbs; swelling about the ankle which may result in only 
a small slough or the loss of a toe, but it may circumscribe the limb 
at any point below the knee or hock by an indented ring, below 
which the tissues become dead. The indentation soon changes to a 
crack, which extends completely around the limb, forming the line 
of separation between the dead and living structures. The crack 
deepens till the parts below drop off without loss of blood, and fre- 
quently with very little pus. Ergot may cause serious irritation of 
the digestive tract, or by acting upon the nervous system it may 
cause lethargy or paralysis. It also operates to cause contraction of 
the uterus, and may thus cause abortion. 

Treatment. — Regarding the treatment, change of feed and local 
antiseptics are, of course, indicated. The former may be useful as a 
preventive, but when the symptoms have appeared the animal is nec- 
essarily so completely saturated that recovery is likely to be tedious. 
Tannin may be given internally in doses of one-half dram twice 
daily for a few days to neutralize the unabsorbed alkaloids of the 
ergot. At the same time give castor oil. To dilate the blood vessels 
give chloral hydrate. Bathe the affected parts with hot water. If 
sloughing has gone far, amputation must be resorted to. 

OTHER POISONOUS FUNGI. 

Many other fungi poison herbivora. In some instances, however, 
where fungi are blamed for causing disease their presence on the 
feedstuff or herbage is but coincidental with some other and more 
potent disease-producing factor. For example, if the conditions are 
favorable to the growth of fungi they are also favorable to the 
growth of bacteria, and bacteria may produce poisons in feeds. In 
general it may be said that any feed that is moldy, musty, or putrid 



POISONS AND POISONING. 69 

is possibly dangerous. Silage, properly cured, does not belong to this 
class, because the curing of silage is not a bacterial process. But 
spoiled silage and silage matted with mold is dangerous and should 
not be fed. 

POISONING BY ANIMAL PRODUCTS. 

SNAKE BITES. 

The poison contained in the tooth glands of certain venomous rep- 
tiles, particularly some of the snakes, which is injected into or under 
the skin of an animal bitten by the reptile, is a very powerful agent. 
It is likely to produce a serious local irritation, and in the case of the 
more poisonous snakes serious constitutional disturbances, even to 
causing death, which it may do in either of two ways: First, when 
very strong, by exerting a narcotic influence similar to that of some of 
the powerful poisons, checking heart action. Second, by diffused 
inflammation of the areolar tissue, gangrene, and extensive sloughing. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of snake bite are a local swelling 
caused by an intense local inflammation, pricks showing where the 
fangs penetrated, depression, weakness, feeble pulse, difficult breath- 
ing, bluish discoloration of the visible mucous membranes, stupor, 
or convulsions. If the poison is not powerful or plentiful enough 
to produce death, it is, at any rate, likely to cause severe local ab- 
scesses or sloughs. 

Treatment. — The treatment may be divided into local and general. 
Locally every effort should be made to prevent absorption of the 
poison. If discovered at once the bitten part had better be excised. 
If that is impracticable and a ligature can be applied, as in the case 
of a bite to one of the limbs, no time should be lost in applying it 
above the injury. It should be made sufficiently tight to so far as 
possible arrest circulation in the bitten part. The wound should be 
freely incised, so that it will bleed freely, and the poison should be 
extracted by cupping, or pressed out by squeezing with the fingers. 
Permanganate of potassium in 5 percent solution should be applied to 
and injected into the wound. The depressing effect of the poison on 
the general system should be counteracted by hypodermic injections 
of strychnin, or by liberal drenching with stimulants, such as alcohol, 
coffee, digitalis, or the aromatic spirits or carbonate of ammonia. 
In animal practice the alcoholic stimulants and local treatment 
above described are likely to meet with best success. A special 
antitoxin for use in treating snake bite is now prepared and may be 
had from the leading druggists. It is quite effective if used promptly. 

WASP AND BEE STINGS. 

Wasps and bees secrete a poisonous substance which they are able 
to insert through the skin of an animal by the aid of their sharp 



70 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

stings. This poison is a severe local irritant and may even cause 
local gangrene. It also has a depressing effect upon the central 
nervous system and destroys the red-blood corpuscles. To produce 
these general effects it must be introduced in very large quantities, as 
when an animal is stung by a swarm of bees or wasps. 

Treatment. — The treatment is to wash the parts with diluted am- 
monia or permanganate of potassium solution and to give stimulants 
internally. If there is so much swelling about the head and nostrils 
as to interfere with breathing, tracheotomy may be necessary. 

POISONING WITH SPANISH FLY. 

Spanish fly, in the form of powdered cantharides, may be given in 
an overdose, or when applied as a blister to too large a surface of 
skin enough may be absorbed to poison. If given by the mouth, it 
causes severe irritation of the gastrointestinal tract, shown by saliva- 
tion, sore throat, colic, bloody diarrhea, etc. It also produces, whether 
given by the mouth or absorbed through the skin, irritation of the 
urinary tract, as shown by frequent and painful urination. If death 
results, it is due to respiratory paralysis. 

Treatment. — Give protectives and the white of egg, with opium. 
Do not give oils or alcohol. 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND 

LYMPHATICS. 

By W. H. Harbaugh, V. S. 
[Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.] 

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. 

In cattle, as in human beings, the heart, blood vessels, and lym- 
phatics may be described as the circulatory apparatus. 

The heart is in the thoracic cavity (chest). It is conical in form, 
with the base or large part uppermost, while the apex, or point, 
rests just above the sternum (breastbone). It is situated between 
the right and left lungs, the apex inclining to the left, and owing 
to this the heart beats are best felt on the left side of the chest, behind 
the elbow. The heart may be considered as a hollow muscle, contain- 
ing four compartments, two on each side. The upper compartments 
are called auricles and the lower ones ventricles. The right auricle 
and ventricle are completely separated from the left auricle and 
ventricle by a thick septum or wall, so that there is no communication 
between the right and left sides of the organ. 

At the bottom of each auricle is the auriculo-ventricular opening, 
each provided with a valve to close it when the heart contracts to 
force the blood into the arteries. In the interval between the con- 
tractions these valves hang down into the ventricles. 

The muscular tissue of the heart belongs to that class known as 
involuntary, because its action is not controlled by the will. 

The cavities of the heart are lined by serous membrane, called the 
endocardium, which may be considered as a continuation of the veins 
and the arteries, forming their internal lining. The walls of the 
ventricles are thicker than those of the auricles, and the walls of the 
left ventricle are much thicker than those of the right. 

The heart is enveloped by a fibrous sac (or bag), called the pericar- 
dium, which assumes much of the general shape of the outer surface 
of the heart. 

The action of the heart is similar to that of a pump and its function 
is to keep the blood in circulation. The auricles may be considered as 
the reservoirs or receivers of the blood and the ventricles as the pump 
chambers. During the interval between contractions, the heart being 
in momentary repose, the blood pours into the auricles from the 

71 



72 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

veins; the auriculo- ventricular orifices being widely open, the ven- 
tricles also receive blood ; the auricles contract and the ventricles are 
filled; contraction of the ventricles follows; the auriculo-ventricular 
valves are forced up by the pressure of the blood and close the auric- 
ulo-ventricular openings and prevent the return of blood into the 
auricles; the contraction of the ventricles forces the blood from the 
right ventricle into the lungs through the pulmonary artery and its 
branches, and from the left ventricle into the aorta, thence through 
the arteries to all parts of the body. After the contraction of the 
ventricles the heart is again in momentary repose and being filled 
with blood, while the valves in the aorta and pulmonary artery close 
to prevent the return of blood into the ventricles. (See PL VII.) 

The average weight of the heart of an ox is said to be from 3^ to 5 
pounds; but, of course, owing to the many breeds and sizes of cattle, 
it must vary in different animals. 

The vessels that convey the blood from the heart to all parts of 
the body are called arteries; those which return the blood to the 
heart are called veins. The arteries divide and subdivide (like the 
branches of a tree), become smaller and smaller, and ultimately 
ramify into every part of the body. Between the ultimate ramifica- 
tions of the arteries and the beginning of the veins there is an inter- 
mediate system of very minute vessels called capillaries, which con- 
nect the arterial with the venous system of the circulation. The 
walls of the arteries are possessed of a certain amount of rigidity, 
sufficient to keep the tubes open when they are empty. 

The blood leaves the left ventricle through a single vessel, the com- 
mon aorta, consisting of the anterior and posterior aortas, which 
give off the large arteries. 

The veins take the blood from the capillaries in all parts of the 
body. They begin in very small tubes, which unite to become larger 
in size and less in number as they approach the heart. 

In its course an artery is usually accompanied with a vein and in 
many situations with a nerve. The more important arteries are 
placed deep within the body; when they are superficial, however, 
they are generally found where least exposed to injury, as, for exam- 
ple, on the inner side of the legs. Arteries are less numerous than 
veins, and their total capacity is much less than that of the veins 
A great number of veins are in the tissue immediately beneath the 
skin and do not generally accompany arteries. 

The. blood, throughout its course in the heart, arteries, capillaries, 
and veins, is inclosed within these vessels. Except where the large 
lymphatics empty into the venous blood, there is no opening into the 
course of the blood. 

All the arteries except the pulmonary and its branches carry 
bright-red blood, and all the veins, except the pulmonary veins. 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 73 

carry dark-red blood. The impure dark-red blood is collected from 
the capillary vessels and carried to the right auricle by the veins; it 
passes down into the right ventricle, and thence into the pulmonary 
artery and through its branches to the capillaries of the lungs, where 
the carbonic-acid gas and other impurities are given up to the air in 
the air cells of the lungs (through the thin walls between the capilla- 
ries and the air cells), and where it also absorbs from the air the 
oxygen gas necessary to sustain life. This gas changes it to the 
bright-red, pure blood. It passes from the capillaries to the branches 
of the pulmonary veins, which convey it to the left auricle of the 
heart; it then passes through the auriculo- ventricular opening into 
the left ventricle, the contraction of which forces it through the 
common aorta into the posterior and anterior aortas, and through all 
the arteries of the body into the capillaries, where it parts with its 
oxygen and nutritive elements and where it absorbs carbonic- acid 
gas and becomes dark colored. (See theoretical diagram of the 
circulation, PI. VII.) 

The branches of certain arteries in different parts unite again after 
subdividing. This reuniting is called anastomosing, and assures a 
quota of blood to a part if one of the anastomosing arteries should be 
tied in case of hemorrhage, or should be destroyed by accident or 
operation. 

THE BLOOD. 

The various kinds of food, after being digested in the alimentary 
canal, are absorbed and carried into the blood by the lymphatics, and 
by the blood to the places where nutrition is required. The blood 
takes from all parts of the body all that is no longer required, and 
carries it to the different organs through which it is eliminated 
from the body. It contains within itself all the elements which 
nourish the body. 

The blood may be considered as a fluid holding in solution certain 
inorganic elements and having certain bodies suspended in it. To 
lacilitate description, the blood may be considered as made up of the 
corpuscles and the liquor sanguinis. The corpuscles are of two kinds, 
the red and the white, the red being the more numerous. The color 
of the blood is caused by the coloring matter in the red corpuscles, 
which are the oxygen carriers. Both kinds are very minute bodies, 
which require the aid of the microscope to recognize them. The 
liquor sanguinis is composed of water containing in solution salts, 
albumen, and the elements of fibrin. 

The lymphatics, or absorbents, are the vessels which carry the 
lymph and chyle in the blood. They begin as capillaries in all parts 
of the body, gradually uniting to form larger trunks. Placed along 
the course of the lymphatic vessels are glands, in some situations 
collected into groups; for example, in the groin. These glands are 



74 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

often involved in inflammation arising from the absorption of 
deleterious matter. 

Absorption is the function of the lymphatics. The liquor san- 
guinis passes from the blood capillaries to supply nutrition to the 
tissues. All of the liquor sanguinis that is not required is absorbed 
by the lymphatic vessels and conveyed back to the blood by the lym- 
phatic ducts. The lymphatics which proceed from the intestines 
convey the chyle into the blood during digestion. As a rule, the 
lymphatic vessels follow the course of the veins. All the absorbent 
vessels convey their contents to the thoracic duct and right great 
lymphatic vein, which empty into the anterior vena cava, where 
the lymph and chyle mix with the venous blood, and thus maintain 
the supply of nutritive elements in the blood. 

THE PULSE. 

As fully explained, the heart pumps the blood throughout the 
arterial system. The arteries are always full and each contraction of 
the ventricle pumps more blood into them ; this distends their elastic 
walls and sends along them a wave which gradually becomes less 
perceptible as it nears the very small arteries. This wave constitutes 
the pulse, and is lost before the capillaries are reached. The sen- 
sation or impression given to the finger when placed upon the artery 
shows the force exerted by the heart and some important facts con- 
cerning the condition of the circulation. In adult cattle the average 
number of pulsations in a minute is from 50 to 60. The pulse is 
faster than normal after exercise, excitement, on hot days, from 
pain, and as a result of fullness of the stomach. In old animals it is 
slower than in the young and in males slightly slower than in 
females. In fevers and inflammations and in local diseases of the 
heart the pulse rate is increased. If the rate is greater than 100 or 
110 to the minute the outlook for recovery is not good. 

Other variations of the pulse are known as infrequent pulse, which 
means that the number of pulsations in a given time is less than nor- 
mal. The irregular or the intermittent pulse is when the pulsations 
do not follow in regular order. The large pulse and the small pulse 
refer to the volume of the pulse, which may be larger or smaller 
than usual. The strong pulse and the feeble pulse refer to the 
strength or weakness of the pulsation. The pulse is said to be hard 
when the vessel feels hard and incompressible, the soft pulse being 
the opposite. By dicrotic pulse is meant that kind of pulsation 
which makes each beat seem double, and therefore it is generally 
called the double pulse. 

The venous or " jugular pulse " is the pulsation so frequently 
observed in the jugular vein of cattle and is particularly noticeable 
while they are ruminating — " chewing the cud." It is not always 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 75 

associated with disease, but may be a symptom of some disease of the 
heart; in such cases the jugular pulse is continuous. 

The place selected for feeling the pulse in cattle is where the 
submaxillary artery winds around the lower jawbones, just at the 
lower edge of the flat muscle on the side of the cheek ; or, if the cow 
is lying down, the metacarpal artery on the back part of the fore 
fetlock is very convenient for the purpose. 

THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART. 

Corresponding to the beats of the heart two sounds are emitted 
which are of a definite type in healthy animals. The first is pro- 
duced by the contraction of the heart and the flow of blood out of it ; 
the second is caused by the rebound of blood in the aorta and the 
closure of the valves that prevent it from flowing backward into the 
heart, whence it came. The first sound is the longer and louder of 
the two, though of low pitch. The second sound is sharper and 
shorter, and is not always easy to hear. There is a brief interval 
between them. 

To distinguish these sounds, the ear is placed against the left side 
of the chest, a little above the point where the elbow rests when the 
animal is standing in a natural position, and about opposite the sixth 
rib. Both heart sounds are reduced in intensity when the animal is 
weak or when the heart is forced away from the chest wall by col- 
lections of fluid or by tubercular or other growths. Nonrhythmical 
heart sound is often caused by pericarditis or by disease of the 
valves. It may also be attributable to overfilling of the heart upon 
the right side, as occurs in severe congestion of the lungs and in 
some febrile diseases. 

In pericarditis, sounds like scraping, rubbing, or splashing may be 
heard, entirely apart from the two normal sounds above described. 

The impulse of the heart, as felt by placing the hand against the 
chest, is of some consequence in reaching a conclusion in respect to 
disease of the heart; but it must be remembered that the impulse 
may be very much increased by diseases other than those of the heart, 
as, for example, inflammation of various organs, severe pains, etc. 
The impulse may be increased also (when disease does not exist) by 
work, exercise, fright, or any cause of excitement, or, in general, by 
anything that causes acceleration of the pulse. 

The impulse of the heart may be felt and the sounds may be heard 
fairly well in lean cattle, but in fat ones it is difficult and often 
impossible to detect either impulse or sound with any degree of 
satisfaction. 

PALPITATION. 

When the impulse of the heart is excessive — that is, when it beats 
more or less tumultuously — the familiar expression " palpitation of 



76 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the heart " is applied ; by many it is called " thumps." The hand or 
ear placed against the chest easily detects the unnatural beating. In 
some cases it is so violent that the motion may be seen at a distance. 
Palpitation is but a symptom, and in many instances not connected 
with disease of the structure of the heart or its membranes. A badly 
frightened animal may have palpitation. When it comes on sud- 
denly and soon passes away, it depends on some cause other than 
diseases of the heart; when it is gradually manifested, however, and 
becomes constant, although more pronounced at one time than an- 
other, heart disease may be suspected, especially if other symptoms 
of heart disease are present. 

INJURY TO THE HEART BY FOREIGN BODIES. 

Cattle are addicted to the habit of chewing and swallowing many 
objects not intended as articles of food. Every veterinarian of ex- 
perience has met with instances to remind him of this, and it is well 
known to butchers. Among the great variety of things that have 
thus found their way into the stomachs of cattle the following have 
been noticed : Finger rings, knitting needles, old shoes, table knives, 
wood, pieces of leather, pieces of wire, buttons, hairpins, brushes, 
nails, coins etc. The more sharply-pointed objects sometimes pene- 
trate the wall of the stomach during which they may or may not 
cause gastric irritation enough to produce indigestion, gradually 
work their way through the diaphragm toward the heart, pierce the 
pericardium (bag inclosing the heart), wound the heart, and thus 
prove fatal to the animal. Cases are recorded in which the foreign 
body has actually worked its way into one of the cavities of the heart. 
Instances are known, however, in which the object took a different 
course, and finally worked its way toward the surface and was ex- 
tracted from the wall of the chest. While it is possible that the 
foreign body may pierce the wall at different parts of the alimentary 
canal, as it frequently does that of the rumen (paunch), it is thought 
that in most cases it passes through the wall of the reticulum (smaller 
honeycombed compartment, or second stomach) and is drawn toward 
the heart by the suctionlike action of the chest. Post-mortem ex- 
aminations have demonstrated the course it pursued, as adhesions 
and other results of the inflammation it caused were plainly to be 
seen. All manner of symptoms may precede those showing involve- 
ment of the heart, depending upon the location of the foreign body 
and the extent of inflammation caused by it. Severe indigestion 
may occur ; stiffness and difficulty in moving about owing to the prods 
of the sharp body following muscular contraction ; pain on pressure 
over the front, lower, or right side of the abdomen; coughing and 
difficult, quick breathing. In most cases the foreign body does not 
penetrate to the heart, nor even to the pericardium. 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 77 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are as follows: The animal is disin- 
clined to move actively, the step is restricted and cautious, sudden 
motion causes grunting, the attitude is constrained, the feet are 
drawn somewhat together, the back is arched, the face has an anxious 
expression. If the disease is of several days' standing, there is likely to 
be soft swelling (edema) beneath the neck, in the dewlap, and under 
the chest, between the fore legs. Breathing is short and difficult; it 
may clearly be painful. The pulse is rapid, 80 to 120 per minute. 
The muscles quiver as though the animal were cold. Rumination and 
appetite are depressed or checked. The dung is hard, and to void it 
appears to cause pain. These symptoms usually develop gradually, 
and, of course, they vary considerably in different animals, depending 
upon the size and location of the foreign body and the irritation it 
causes. 

As a matter of course, in such cases treatment is useless, but when 
it is possible to diagnose correctly the animal could be turned over 
to the butcher before the flesh becomes unfit for use; that is, before 
there is more than a little suppuration and before there is fever. 
Knowing that cattle are prone to swallow such objects, ordinary 
care may be taken in keeping their surroundings as free of them as 
possible. 

PERICARDITIS. 

Inflammation of the pericardium (heart bag) is often associated 
with pneumonia and pleurisy, rheumatism, and other constitutional 
diseases, or with an injury. It also occurs as an independent affec- 
tion, owing to causes similar to those of other chest affections, as ex- 
posure to cold or dampness and changes of the weather. 

Symptoms. — It may be ushered in with a chill, followed by fever, 
of more or less severity; the animal stands still and dull, with head 
hanging low, and anxiety expressed in its countenance. The pulse 
may be large, perhaps hard; there is also a venous pulse. The hand 
against the chest will feel the beating of the heart, which is often 
irregular, sometimes violent, and in other instances weak, depending 
in part upon the quantity of fluid that has transuded into the peri- 
cardial sac. The legs are cold, the breathing quickened and usually 
abdominal ; if the left side of the chest is pressed on or struck, the 
animal evinces pain. There may be spasms of the muscles in the 
region of the breast, neck, or hind legs. After a time, which varies in 
length, swelling may also appear in the legs and under the chest 
and brisket. 

In those animals in which the heart sounds may be heard somewhat 
distinctly, the ear applied against the chest will detect a to-and-fro 
friction sound, corresponding to the beats of the heart. This sound 
is produced by the rubbing of the internal surface of the heart bag 



78 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

against the external surface of the heart. During the first stages of 
the inflammation these surfaces are dry, and the rubbing of one 
against the other during the contraction and relaxation of the heart 
produces this sound. The dry stage is followed by the exudation of 
fluid into the heart sac, and the friction is not heard until the fluid 
is absorbed sufficiently to allow the surfaces to come in contact again. 
But during the time the friction sound is lost a sound which has been 
called a " churning noise " may take its place. 

The friction sound of pericarditis can not be mistaken for the fric- 
tion sound of pleurisy if the examination is a careful one, because 
in the heart affection the sound is made in connection with the heart 
beats, while in the pleuritic affection the sound is synchronous with 
each respiration or breath of air taken in and expelled from the 
lungs. 

Treatment. — When pericarditis is complicated with rheumatism or 
other diseases the latter must be treated as directed in the description 
of them. The animal must be kept in a quiet, comfortable place, 
where it will be free from excitement. Warm clothing should be 
applied to the body, and the legs should be hand-rubbed until the cir- 
culation in them is reestablished, and then they should be snugly 
bandaged. The food should be nutritive and in moderate quantity. 
Bleeding should not be performed unless the case is in the hands of 
an expert. 

At the beginning give as a purgative Epsom salt — 1 pound to an 
average-sized cow — dissolved in about a quart of warm water and 
administered as a drench. When there is much pain 2 ounces of 
laudanum, diluted with a pint of water, may be given every three 
hours until the animal is better. Do not give the laudanum unless 
demanded by the severity of the pain, as it tends to constipate. Give 
one-half ounce of nitrate of potassium (saltpeter), dissolved in drink- 
ing water, four or five times a day. After the attack has abated 
mustard mixed with water may be rubbed well over the left side 
of the chest to stimulate the absorption of the fluid within the 
pericardium. The other medicines may be discontinued and the 
following administered : Sulphate of iron, 2 ounces ; powdered gen- 
tian, 6 ounces; mix and make 8 powders. Give one powder every 
day at noon, mixed with feed, if the animal will eat it, or shaken up 
with water in a bottle as a drench. Also the following: Iodid of 
potassium, 2 ounces; nitrate of potassium, 8 ounces; mix and make 
16 powders. Give one in drinking water or in drench every morning 
and evening. The last two prescriptions may be continued for sev- 
eral weeks if necessary. 

If at any time during the attack much weakness is manifested, 
give the following drench every three hours : Spirits of nitrous ether, 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 79 

3 ounces; rectified spirits, 4 ounces; water, 1 pint; mix and give as a 
drench. 

In extreme cases tapping the pericardium with a trocar and can- 
nula to draw off the fluid is resorted to, but the operation requires 
exact anatomical knowledge. 

After death from pericarditis there is always more or less fluid 
found in the pericardium ; the surfaces are rough and covered with a 
yellow-colored exudate. There are also in many cases adhesions to 
a greater or less extent between the heart and pericardium. 

MYOCARDITIS. 

Inflammation of the muscular structure of the heart occurs in 
limited, circumscribed areas, as evidenced by post-mortem examina- 
tion, and it is probably always somewhat involved in connection with 
pericarditis and endocarditis. It may readily be inferred that if the 
whole organ were inflamed death would ensue immediately. Usually 
myocarditis results from the preexistence of blood poisoning or of 
some infectious febrile disease. 

Symptoms. — The chief symptoms are those of heart weakness. 
The heart beat is fast, weak, and often irregular. Respiration is 
difficult and rapid. There is great general weakness and depression. 
Death comes suddenly. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists in supporting the animal by the 
use of stimulants, such as alcohol, ammonia, coffee, digitalis, cam- 
phor, etc. Complete quiet must be provided, and the general care 
should be as in pericarditis. 

ENDOCARDITIS. 

When the membrane which lines the cavities of the heart — the 
endocardium — suffers inflammation, the disease is called endocarditis. 
The cause is another disease, during which substances that irritate 
the lining of the heart are produced and admitted into the circula- 
tion. These substances are usually living organisms, or it is possible 
that in some cases they are chemical irritants. Endocarditis occurs 
as a complication of or sequel to pneumonia, blood poisoning, inflam- 
mation of the womb, rheumatism, or severe wounds or abscesses. 
The symptoms are much the same as those of pericarditis, and it is 
difficult to discriminate between the two affections. There is a 
jugular pulse, the legs may become dropsical, and there is a tendency 
to faint if the head is elevated suddenly. The bellowslike sound 
is more distinct than it is in pericarditis. It is the most fatal of 
heart diseases, because of the liability of the formation of clots, 
which may adhere to the valves, change in the structure of the valves, 
and often a complication with an abnormal condition of the blood. 



80 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Clots may be formed in the heart, and, being carried to other parts, 
prove fatal by interrupting the circulation in some vital organ. 

Treatment similar to that advised for myocarditis may be followed 
in this disease. 

VALVES OF THE HEART. 

The valves are subject to abnormal growths and structural changes 
in chronic endocarditis or as a result of acute endocarditis. Some- 
times valves are torn by sudden, extreme muscular effort or a con- 
genital abnormality. Cases are also reported in which they have 
been found ruptured. 

Symptoms. — The general symptoms are those of heart weakness, 
accompanied with edema and congestion of the lungs. 

Treatment. — Relief is sometimes afforded, but usually only tempo- 
rarily, by the use of stimulants, especially digitalis. 

RUPTURE OF THE HEART. 

Sudden effort, blows, or disease may lead to rupture of the heart of 
the ox. The first cause does not operate so often in cattle as in horses. 
Tuberculosis or ulceration from other causes, such as a foreign body, 
is the most common source of this accident. Rupture is shown by 
sudden fainting, followed very shortly by death. 

HYPERTROPHY AND DILATATION OF THE HEART. 

This is an enlargement of the heart, and may consist of the thick- 
ening of the walls alone, or at the same time the cavities may be 
either enlarged or diminished. Dilatation of the cavities has been 
noticed as existing independently of thickened walls. In hyper- 
trophy the sounds of the heart are loud and pronounced, may be 
heard on both sides of the chest distinctly, and palpitation occurs 
to a greater or less extent. Fortunately both conditions are very rare 
in cattle. 

ATROPHY. 

Atrophy is the technical term for wasting of the muscular tissue. 
Atrophy of the heart is very rare among cattle, and is usually a 
result of other diseases. 

FATTY DEGENERATION OF THE HEART. 

This condition of the heart is met with in some very fat cattle, 
but it must be understood that the accumulation of fat around the 
heart is not referred to by this designation. In fatty degenera- 
tion the elements of the muscular tissue are replaced by fatty or oily 
granules. The muscle becomes weak, the heart contractions are 
insufficient, and heart weakness is shown by general weakness, short- 
ness of breath, and weak, rapid pulse. 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 81 

CYANOSIS. 

Owing to the most prominent symptoms, cyanosis is also called 
" blue disease," and is seen occasionally in new-born calves. It is 
recognized by the blue color of the mucous membrane (easily seen by 
looking within the mouth and nostrils), the coldness of the surface 
of the body, and rapid, labored breathing. It is caused by non- 
closure of the foramen ovale, connecting the right with the left side 
of the heart, and the consequent mixing of the venous with the arte- 
rial blood. Calves so affected live but a short time. 

MISPLACEMENT OF THE HEART. 

Cases are recorded in which the heart has been found out of its 
natural position, sometimes even outside the chest. This is a con- 
genital condition for which there is no remedy. A heifer calf with 
the heart entirely outside the thoracic cavity and beneath the skin 
in the lower part of the neck was kept for two years at the veteri- 
nary hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, during which time 
it grew to be a well-developed cow. 

WOUNDS OF ARTERIES AND VEINS. 

When a blood vessel is opened a glance will tell whether it is an 
artery or a vein by simply remembering that bright-red blood comes 
from arteries and dark-red from veins. When a vein or a very small 
artery is severed the blood flows from the vessel in a continuous and 
even stream, but when one of the larger arteries is severed the blood 
comes in intermitting jets or spurts corresponding to the beats of 
the heart. It is well to call attention to the fact that the dark-red 
blood which flows or oozes from a wound soon becomes bright red, 
because it gives up its carbonic-acid gas to the air, and absorbs 
oxygen gas from the air, which is exactly the change it undergoes 
in the capillaries of the lungs. 

The general treatment of wounds will be found in another section ; 
here it is necessary onty to refer briefly to some of the most practical 
methods used to arrest hemorrhages, as instances occur in which an 
animal may lose much strength from the loss of blood, or even bleed 
to death unless action is prompt. 

BLEEDING (HEMORRHAGE). 

The severity of a hemorrhage depends upon the size of the vessel 
from which the blood escapes, though it may be stated that it is more 
serious when arteries are severed. If the wound in an artery is in the 
direction of its length, the blood escapes more freely than if the vessel 
is completely severed, because in the latter instance the severed ends 
retract, curl in, and may aid very much in arresting the flow. When 
33071°— 16 6 



82 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the blood merely oozes from the wound, and even when it flows in a 
small stream, the forming of the clot arrests the hemorrhage in a 
comparatively short time. 

Slight hemorrhages may be checked by the continuous application 
of cold water, ice, or snow, to the wound, as cold causes contraction of 
the small vessels. Water from a hose may be thrown on a wound, or 
dashed on it from the hand or a cup, or folds of cotton cloths may be 
held on it and kept wet. Ice or snow may be held against the wound, 
or they may be put into a bag and conveniently secured in position. 

Hot water of an average temperature of 115° to 120° F. injected 
into the vagina or womb is often efficient in arresting hemorrhages 
from those organs. Tow, raw cotton, lint, or sponges ma} r be forced 
into a wound and held or bound there with bandages. This is an 
excellent method of checking the flow of blood until the arrival of 
an expert. If the flow persists, these articles may be saturated with 
tincture of iron, but it is not advisable to use it unless necessary, as 
it is a caustic and retards healing by causing a slough. In cases of 
necessity, the articles may be saturated with vinegar, or tannic acid 
or alum dissolved in water may be used instead. Whatever article is 
used should be left in the wound sufficiently long to make sure that 
its removal will not be followed by a renewal of the hemorrhage. 
Sometimes it must remain there one or two days. 

An iron heated white and then pressed on the bleeding vessel for 
three or four seconds is occasionally used. It should not be applied 
longer, or else the charred tissue will come away with the iron and 
thus defeat the purpose of its application. 

Compression may be applied in different ways, but only the most 
convenient will be mentioned. To many wounds bandages may easily 
be applied. The bandages may be made of linen, muslin, etc., suffi- 
ciently wide and long, according to the nature of the wound and the 
region to be bandaged. Bed sheets torn in strips the full length make 
excellent bandages for this purpose. Cotton batting, tow, or a piece 
of sponge may be placed on the wound and firmly bound there with 
the bandages. 

Many cases require ligating, which is almost entirely confined to 
arteries. A ligature is a piece of thread or string tied around the 
vessel. Veins are not ligated unless very large (and even then only 
when other means are not available) on account of the danger of 
causing phlebitis, or inflammation of a vein. The ligature is tied 
around the end of the artery, but in some instances this is difficult and 
it is necessary to include some of the adjacent tissue, although care 
should be taken not to include a nerve. To apply a ligature, it is nec- 
essary to have artery forceps (tweezers or small pincers may suffice) 
by which to draw out the artery in order to tie the string around it. 
To grasp the vessel it may be necessary to sponge the blood from the 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 83 

wound so that the end will be exposed. In case the end of the bleed- 
ing artery has retracted, a sharp-pointed hook, called a tenaculum, 
is used to draw it out far enough to tie. The ligature should be 
drawn tightly, so that the middle and internal coats will be cut 
through. 

Another method of checking hemorrhage is called torsion. It con- 
sists in catching the end of the bleeding vessel, drawing it out a little, 
and then twisting it around a few times with the forceps, which lacer- 
ates the internal coats so that a check is effected. This is very effec- 
tual in small vessels, and is to be preferred to ligatures, because it 
leaves no foreign body in the wound. A needle or pin may be stuck 
through the edges of the wound and a string passed around between 
the free ends and the skin (PI. XXVII, fig. 10), or it may be passed 
around in the form of a figure 8, as is often done in the operation of 
bleeding from the jugular vein. 

ANEURISM. 

A circumscribed dilation of an artery, constituting a tumor which 
pulsates synchronously with the beats of the heart, is called aneurism. 
It is caused by disease and rupture of one or two of the arterial coats. 
The true aneurism communicates with the interior of the artery and 
contains coagulated blood. It is so deeply seated in cattle that treat- 
ment is out of the question. Such abnormalities are ascribable to 
severe exertion, to old age, to fatty or calcareous degeneration, or to 
parasites in the blood vessels. Death is sudden when caused by the 
rupture of an aneurism of a large artery, owing to internal hemor- 
rhage. Sometimes spontaneous recovery occurs. As a rule no symp- 
toms are caused in cattle by the presence of deep-seated aneurisms, 
and their presence is not known until after death. 

A false aneurism results from blood escaping from a wounded 
artery into the adjacent tissue, where it clots, and the wound, remain- 
ing open in the artery, causes pulsation in the tumor. 

THROMBOSIS (OBSTRUCTION) OF THE ARTERIES. 

Arteries become obstructed as a result of wounds and other injuries 
to them, as those caused by the formation of an abscess or- the ex- 
tension of inflammation from surrounding structures to the coats 
of an artery. Arteries are also obstructed by the breaking off of 
particles of a plug or clot, partly obstructing the aorta or other large 
artery. These small pieces (emboli) are floated to an artery that is 
too small to permit them to pass and are there securely held, pro- 
ducing obstruction. These obstructions are shown by loss of power 
in the muscles supplied by the obstructed artery and by excitation 
of the heart and by respiration after exercise. The loss of power may 
not come into evidence until after exercise. 



84 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Symptoms. — While standing still or when walking slowly the ani- 
mal may appear to be normal, but after more active exercise a group 
of muscles, a leg, or both hind legs, may be handled with difficulty, 
causing lameness, and later there is practically a local paralysis. 
These symptoms disappear with rest. In some cases the collateral 
circulation develops in time, so that the parts receive sufficient blood 
and the symptoms disappear. 

INFLAMMATION OF VEINS (PHLEBITIS). 

When bleeding is performed without proper care or with an un- 
clean lancet, inflammation of the vein may result, or it may be 
caused by the animal rubbing the wound against some object. When 
inflammation follows the operation, the coats of the vein become so 
much enlarged that the vessel may be felt hard and knotted beneath 
the skin, and pressure produces pain. A thin, watery discharge, 
tinged with blood, issues from the wound. When the pin is taken 
out it is found that the wound has not healed. The blood becomes 
coagulated in the vessel. In inflammation of the jugular the coagu- 
lation extends from the wound upward to the first large branch. 
Abscesses may form along the course of the vein. The inflammation 
is followed by obliteration of that part in which coagulation exists. 
This is of small import, as cattle have an accessory jugular vein 
which gradually enlarges and accommodates itself to the increased 
quantity of blood it must carry. 

Treatment. — The treatment for inflammation of the vein is to clip 
the hair from along the course of the affected vessel and apply a 
blister, the cerate of cantharides. Abscesses should be opened as 
soon as they form, because there is a possibility of the pus getting 
into the circulation. 

In the operation of bleeding the instruments should be clean and 
free from rust. If the skin is not sufficiently opened, or when closing 
the wound the skin is drawn out too much, blood may accumulate in 
the tissue, and if it does it should be removed by pressing absorbent 
cotton or a sponge on the part. Care should also be used in opening 
the vein, so that the instrument may not pass entirely through both 
sides of the vein and open the artery beneath it. 



DISEASES OF THE HEART, BLOOD VESSELS, AND LYMPHATICS. 

DESCRIPTION OP PLATE. 

Plate VII: 

Diagram illustrating the circulation of the blood. The arrows indicate the 
direction in which the blood flows. The valves of the heart, situated 
between the right auricle and ventricle, and left auricle and ventricle, and 
between the ventricles and large arteries, are represented by curved lines. 
These valves are intended to prevent the flow of blood in a direction con- 
trary to that indicated by the arrows. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate VII. 




NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF THE ORGANS 
OF RESPIRATION. 

By William Herbert Lowe, D. V. S. 

DIAGNOSIS. 

In the determination of disease in the human being the physician, 
in making his diagnosis, is aided by both subjective and objective 
symptoms, but the veterinary physician, in a very large majority of 
cases, is obliged to rely almost solely upon objective symptoms, and 
perhaps in no class of diseases is this more true than in the explora- 
tion of those under consideration. This condition of affairs has a 
strong tendency to develop observation and discernment in the veter- 
inarian, and not infrequently do we find that the successful veteri- 
nary practitioner is a very accurate diagnostician. In order to 
make a differential diagnosis, however, it is not only necessary to 
know structure and functions of the organs in health, but to adopt a 
rigid system of details of examination, without which successful 
results can not be reached. 

History. — The history of a case should always be ascertained so far 
as possible. The information obtained is sometimes unsatisfactory 
and not to be depended upon, but even when this is the case it is 
advisable to weigh the evidence from every point of view. 

In connection with the history of every case it is always of pri- 
mary importance to ascertain the cause of illness. A knowledge of 
the origin and development of a disease is important, both in making 
a diagnosis and in formulating the treatment. Exposure to cold and 
dampness is frequently the exciting cause of affections of the organs 
of respiration. 

The experienced practitioner is always sure to ascertain whether 
the particular animal he is called on to attend is the only one in the 
stable or on the premises that is similarly affected. If several ani- 
mals are similarly affected, the disease may have a common cause, 
which may or ma} 7 not be of an infectious nature. 

Another thing that the experienced practitioner ascertains is what 
previous treatment, if any, the animal has had. Medicine given in 
excessive doses sometimes produces symptoms resembling those of 
disease. 

The hygienic and sanitary conditions must always be considered 
in connection with the cause as well as the treatment of disease. 

85 



86 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Much of the disease which occurs in large dairies and elsewhere 
could be prevented if owners and those in charge of animals had 
proper regard for the fundamental laws of animal hygiene and 
modern sanitation. Disregard for these laws is the cause of most of 
the diseases under consideration in this chapter. 

Attitude and general condition. — The feeling of pain in animals 
suffering from serious affections of the organs of respiration is ex- 
pressed to the close observer in no uncertain language — by their 
flinching when the painful part is touched ; by the care with which 
they move or lie down ; by walking or standing to " favor " the part ; 
by the general attitude and expression of the eye ; by the distress and 
suffering apparent in the face; and by other evidences. 

The general physical condition and attitude of the sick animal tell 
the careful observer much that aids him in making a diagnosis and 
prognosis. Cows suffering from affections of the organs of respira- 
tion usually assume a position or attitude that is characteristic, well 
known to experienced stockmen, as well as to veterinarians. When 
an animal has a fever or is suffering from an inflammation, the skin 
is one of the first parts to undergo a change that is apparent to the 
average observer, for it soon loses its elasticity and tone, and the hair 
becomes dry and staring. 

From the general condition or state of nutrition one is able to 
judge the effect that the disease has already had upon the animal and 
to estimate the strength remaining available for its restoration to 
health; from the degree of emaciation one can approximate the 
length of time the animal has been ill. The age and breed of the 
animal, as well as its constitution and temperament, are among the 
things that have to be taken into account in making a diagnosis and 
in overcoming the disease. 

The muc&us membrane. — The mucous membrane should in all cases 
be examined. It can be readily seen by everting the eyelids or by 
an inspection of the lining membrane of the nostrils. 

Paleness of the mucous membrane indicates weak circulation or 
poor blood and may result from disease, hemorrhage, or from in- 
appropriate feed. 

In healthy animals increased redness of the mucous membrane 
occurs- from pain, excitement, or severe exertion, and in such in- 
stances is always transitory. In certain pathological conditions, such 
as fevers and inflammation, this condition of the mucous membrane 
will also be found. The increased redness of the mucous membrane 
lasts during the duration of the fever or inflammation. 

A bluish or blue mucous membrane indicates that the blood is 
imperfectly oxidized and contains an excess of carbon dioxid, and 
is seen in serious diseases of the respiratory tract, such as pneumonia, 
and in heart failure. 



NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 87 

The secretions. — The secretions may be diminished, increased, or 
perverted. In the early stage of an inflammation of a secretory or- 
gan its secretion is diminished. In the early stage of pleurisy the 
serous membrane is dry, and as the disease advances the membrane 
becomes unnaturally moist. The products of secretion are sometimes 
greatly changed in character from the secretion in health, becoming 
excessively irritant and yielding evidence of chemical and other 
alterations in the character of the secretion. 

Cough. — Cough depends upon a reflex nervous action' and may be 
primary when the irritation exists in the lungs or air passages, or 
secondary when caused by irritation of the stomach, intestines, or 
other parts having nervous communications with the respiratory ap- 
paratus. A cough is said to be dry, moist, harsh, hollow, difficult, 
paroxysmal, suppressed, sympathetic, etc., according to its character. 
It is a very important symptom, often being diagnostic in diseases of 
the respiratory organs, but this is a subject, however, which can be 
more satisfactorily treated in connection with the special diseases of 
the organs in question. 

Respiration. — In making an examination of an animal observe the 
depth, frequency, quickness, facility, and the nature of the respira- 
tory movements. They may be quick or slow, frequent or infre- 
quent, deep or imperfect, labored, unequal, irregular, etc., each of 
which has its significance to the experienced veterinarian. 

Sleep, rumination, pregnancy in cows, etc., modify the respiratory 
movements even in health. Respiration consists of two acts — inspira- 
tion and expiration. The function of respiration is to take in oxygen 
from the atmospheric air, which is essential for the maintenance of 
life, and to exhale the deleterious gas known as " carbon dioxid." 

The frequency of the respiratory movements is determined by 
observing the motions of the nostrils or of the flanks. The normal 
rate of respiration for a healthy animal of the bovine species is 
from 15 to 18 times a minute. The extent of the respiratory sys- 
tem renders it liable to become affected by contiguity to many parts 
and its nervous connections are very important. 

Rapid, irregular, or difficult breathing is known as dyspnea, and 
in all such cases the animal has difficulty in obtaining as much oxygen 
as. it requires. Among the conditions that give rise to dyspnea may 
be jnentioned restricted area of active lung tissue, owing to the fill- 
ing of portions of the lungs with inflammatory exudate, as in pneu- 
monia ; painful movements of the chest, as in rheumatism or pleurisy; 
fluid in the chest cavity, as in hydrothorax ; adhesions between the 
lungs and chest walls ; compression of the lungs or loss of elasticity ; 
excess of carbon dioxid in the blood; weakness of the respiratory 
passages; tumors of the nose and paralysis of the throat; swellings 



88 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of the throat; foreign bodies and constriction of the air passages 
leading to the lungs ; fevers, etc. 

As already alluded to, it is only the careful and constant examina- 
tion of animals in health that will enable one properly to appreciate 
abnormal conditions. One must become familiar with the frequency 
and character of the pulse and of the respirations, must know the 
temperature of the animaUn health, before changes in abnormal con- 
ditions can be properly appreciated. 

Temperature. — The temperature should be taken in all cases of 
sickness. Experienced practitioners can approximate the patient's 
temperature with remarkable accuracy, but I strongly recommend 
the use of the self-registering clinical thermometer, which is a most 
valuable instrument in diagnosing diseases. (See PI. Ill, fig. 1.) 
It is advisable to get a tested instrument, as some thermometers in the 
market are inaccurate and misleading. The proper place to in- 
sert the thermometer is in the rectum, where the instrument should 
be rested against the walls of the cavity for about three minutes. 
The normal temperature of the bovine is 101° to 102° F., which 
is higher than that of the horse. A cow breathes faster, her heart 
beats faster, and her internal temperature is higher than that of the 
horse. Ordinary physiological influences — such as exercise, diges- 
tion, etc. — give rise to slight variations of internal temperature ; but 
if the temperature rises two or three degrees above the standard 
some diseased condition is indicated. 

Pulse. — The pulse in a grown animal of the bovine species in a 
state of good health beats from 45 to 55 times a minute. Exercise, 
fright, fear, excitement, overfeeding, pregnancy, and other physi- 
ological conditions, as well as disease, may affect the frequency and 
character of the pulse. It assumes various characters according to 
its rapidity of beat, frequency of occurrence, resistance to pressure, 
regularity, and perceptibility. Thus we have the quick or slow, 
frequent or infrequent, hard or soft, full or imperceptible, large 
or small pulse, the character of each of which may be determined 
from its name; also that known as the intermittent, either regular 
or irregular. We may have a dicrotic, or double pulse; a thready 
pulse, which is extremely small and scarcely perceptible ; the venous, 
or jugular, pulse ; the ' running down " pulse, and so on. (See p. 74.) 

In cattle the pulse is conveniently felt over the submaxillary artery 
where it winds around the lower jawbone, just at the lower edge of 
the flat muscle on the side of the cheek. If the cow is lying down the 
pulse may be taken from the metacarpal artery on the back part of 
the fore fetlock. The pulsations can be felt from any superficial 
artery, but in order to ascertain the peculiarities it is necessary to 
select an artery that may be pressed against a bone. There is a 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate VIII 








&<■->■■• 















NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 89 

marked difference in the normal or physiological pulse of the horse 
and that of the cow, that of the horse being full and rather tense, 
while in the cow it is soft and rolling. The pulse is faster in young 
or old cattle than it is in those of middle age. 

Auscultation. — Auscultation and percussion are the chief methods 
used to determine the various pathological changes that occur in 
the respiratory organs. Auscultation is the act of listening, and 
may be either mediate or immediate. Mediate auscultation is accom- 
plished by aid of an instrument known as the stethoscope, one ex- 
tremity of which is applied to the ear and the other to the chest of 
the animal. In immediate auscultation the ear is aplied directly to 
the part. Immediate auscultation will answer in a large majority of 
cases. Ausculation is resorted to in cardiac and certain abdominal 
diseases, but it is mainly employed for determining the condition of 
the lungs and air passages. Animals can not give the various phases 
of respiration, as can the patients of the human practitioner. The 
organs themselves are less accessible than in man, owing to the 
greater bulk of tissue surrounding them and the pectoral position of 
the fore extremities, all of which render it more difficult in deter- 
mining pathological conditions. (See PL VIII.) 

The air going in and out of the lungs makes a certain soft, rustling 
sound, known as the vesicular murmur, which can be heard distinctly 
in a healthy state of the animal, especially upon inspiration. Exer- 
cise accelerates the rate of respiration and intensifies this sound. 
The vesicular murmur is heard only where the lung contains air and 
its function is active. The vesicular murmur is weakened as inflam- 
matory infiltration takes place and when the lungs are compressed by 
fluids in the thoracic cavity, and disappears when the lung becomes 
solidified in pneumonia or the chest cavity filled with fluid as in 
hydrothorax. The bronchial murmur is a harsh, blowing sound, 
heard in normal conditions by applying the ear over the lower part 
of the trachea, and may be heard to a limited extent in the anterior 
portions of the lungs after severe exercise. The bronchial murmur 
when heard over other portions of the lungs generally signifies that 
the lung tissue has become more or less solidified or that fluid has 
collected in the chest cavity. 

Other sounds, known as mucous rales, are heard in the lungs in 
pneumonia after the solidified parts begin to break down at the end 
of the disease and in bronchitis where there is an excess of secretion, 
as well as in other conditions. Mucous rales are of a gargling or 
bubbling nature. They are caused by air rushing through tubes con- 
taining secretions or pus. They are said to be large or small as they 
are distinct or indistinct, depending upon the quantity of fluid that 
is present and the size of the tubes in which the sound is produced. 



90 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

According to their character they are divided into dry and moist. 
The friction sound is produced by the rubbing together of roughened 
surfaces and is characteristic of pleurisy. 

Percussion. — Percussion is that mode of examination by which we 
elicit sounds by striking or tapping over the part. It may be direct 
or indirect. If the middle finger of the left hand is placed firmly on 
the chest and smartly tapped or struck with the ends of the first three 
fingers of the right hand, the sound will be noticed to be more reso- 
nant and clear than when the same procedure is practiced on a solid 
part of the body. This is because the lungs are not solid, but are 
always, in health, well expanded with air. In certain pulmonary 
diseases, however, as in pneumonia, they fill up and become solid, 
when percussion produces a dull sound, like that on any other solid 
part of the animal. When fluid has collected in the lower part of 
the chest cavity the sound will also be dull on percussion. Where 
there is an excess of air in the chest cavity, as in emphysema or in 
pneumothorax, the percussion sound becomes abnormally loud and 
clear. By practice on healthy animals the character and boundaries 
of the sounds can be so well determined that any variation from 
them will be readily detected, and will sometimes disclose the pres- 
ence of a diseased condition when nothing else will. 

Percussion is sometimes practiced with the aid of a special per- 
cussion hammer and an object known as a pleximeter to strike upon. 
A percussion hammer is made of rubber or has a rubber tip, so that 
when the pleximeter, which is placed against the side of the animal, 
is struck the impact will not be accompanied with a noise. A percus- 
sion hammer and pleximeter may be purchased from any veterinary 
instrument maker. 

CATARRH (COLD IN THE HEAD). 

Nasal catarrh is an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the 
nostrils and upper air passages. Simple catarrh is not a serious dis- 
ease in itself, but if neglected is liable to be complicated with laryn- 
gitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, plurisy, or other serious and sometimes 
fatal diseases of the respiratory organs. Catarrh is a common 
disease among cattle. It is often caused by sudden exposure to wet 
and cold after they have been accustomed to shelter. It may arise 
from inhalation of irritating gases. It is also sometimes produced 
by certain specific atmospheric conditions, and may assume an 
enzootic form. It is very debilitating, and requires prompt and 
judicious treatment. 

Symptoms. — Redness of the mucous membranes of the nose and 
redness and watering of the eyes are symptoms of nasal catarrh. 
The mucous membrane first becomes dry; afterwards a watery dis- 
charge appears, and later, in severe cases, the discharge becomes 



NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 91 

mucopurulent. In mild cases there is little or no fever, but in severe 
ones it may run high. The animal becomes dull, languid, and is not 
inclined to move about, and the appetite may become impaired ; there 
is also variable temperature of the horns and ears. If in a cow 
giving milk the secretion diminishes, the mucus from the eyes and 
nose becomes thicker and yellower. Afterwards, as the symptoms 
increase in severity, the discharge becomes mucopurulent. 

Treatment. — The animal should be housed in a well-ventilated 
place, with good hygienic surroundings. In cold and damp weather 
it should be kept warm with blanketing, and, in severe cases, hot, 
medicated inhalations given. If the fever is high, it may be reduced 
by giving nitrate of potassium, from 1 to 2 ounces, in the drinking 
water, three times daily. Diffusible stimulants are beneficial in most 
cases. Too much importance can not be attached to good nursing. 
There is no necessity to resort to the old system of bleeding, purging, 
or the use of powerful sedatives. 

EPISTAXIS (BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE). 

Bleeding from the nostrils is rather rare in cattle. It may arise 
from any one of a variety of causes, but usually results from disease 
or injury to the mucous membranes or to violent exertions in cough- 
ing and sneezing. It is seldom serious. It generally occurs in drops 
from one nostril only, accompanied with sneezing, and without 
frothing. Bleeding from the lungs comes from both nostrils, is 
bright red, frothy, and accompanied with a cough. 

Treatment. — In many cases the bleeding will cease spontaneously 
and all that is necessary is to keep the animal quiet and bathe the 
head and nostrils with cold water. The cause of the bleeding should 
be learned and governed accordingly in the treatment. In severe and 
exceptional cases, when the hemorrhage is persistent and long con- 
tinued, the animal's head should be tied to a high rack or beam and 
cold water or ice applied, or recourse to styptic injections taken. If 
the hemorrhage is profuse and persistent, either a drench composed 
of H drams of acetate of lead dissolved in a pint of water or 1-$ 
drams of gallic acid dissolved in a pint of water should be given. 

LARYNGITIS (SORE THROAT). 

An inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the larynx is 
known as laryngitis. It may be either a primary or a secondary 
disease, complicated or uncomplicated. In the majority of cases it 
is attributable to some form of exposure, a sudden change from warm 
to cold surroundings, or exposure to cold storms. It may also result 
from inhaling irritating gases or from external violence. In an 
acute attack of laryngitis there is an elevation of temperature, pain 
on pressure over the region of the larynx, violent paroxysms of 



92 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

coughing, difficult and noisy respiration. The nostrils are dilated, 
the nose extended, and the animal has a frightened expression. 
There is marked difficulty in swallowing. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists of fomentations and hot applica- 
tions over the throat. Stimulating liniments, mustard mixed with 
cold water and well rubbed in with a stiff brush, or other forms of 
counterirritation may be applied in severe cases. Hot inhalations 
should be frequently resorted to, and often afford much relief to the 
suffering animal. In this disease medicines should be given so far as 
possible in the form of electuaries (soft solid) on account of the diffi- 
culty of deglutition. Large drafts of medicines have a tendency to 
produce violent spells of coughing, and in this way retard recovery. 
The subjoined formula for an electuary will be found to answer the 
purpose in ordinary cases: Chlorate of potassium, pulverized, 8 
ounces; fluid extract of belladonna, 2 ounces; powdered opium, 1 
ounce; powdered licorice root, 8 ounces; sirup, sufficient quantity; 
mix. Place a small tablespoonful of the mixture frequently on the 
tongue or back teeth. Or the following may be used instead : Aloes, 
powdered opium, and gum camphor in equal parts; mix. Rub an 
ounce on the molar teeth every four or five hours. The bowels should 
be kept open and the diet should be such as the patient can easily 
swallow. Warm, sloppy mashes, boiled oatmeal gruel, linseed tea, 
and the like are the most suitable substances. If suffocation be 
threatened during the course of the disease, tracheotomy should be 
performed without delay. The details of the operation are fully 
described under the head of " Surgical operations." (See p. 287.) 

When the disease assumes a chronic form, strong counterirritation 
is indicated. A cantharides blister may be applied, or the following 
ointment used : Biniodid of mercury 1 part, lard 6 parts ; mix. In 
some cases it will be found necessary to repeat the application. 

BRONCHITIS. 

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the 
bronchial tubes. When a primary disease, it is generally the result 
of what is commonly known as " catching cold." It may be sec- 
ondary to or complicated with many of the diseases of the respiratory 
system. It may also be caused by breathing irritating gases, or by 
the introduction of foreign bodies into the bronchial tubes, which 
sometimes results from injudicious and careless drenching when the 
larynx is temporarily relaxed. It may be acute or chronic, and is 
divided, according to the seat of the inflammation, into bronchitis 
proper when the large tubes are affected, or capillary bronchitis when 
the trouble is in the smaller ones. 

Symptoms. — Loss of appetite, elevation of temperature, generally 
104° or 105° F. The inspiration is incomplete, short, and painful, 



NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 93 

and the expiration is prolonged. The pulse is increased in frequency 
and is hard. A characteristic, painful cough is present, but it is par- 
oxysmal and incomplete. Auscultation and percussion greatly aid 
us in a diagnosis. A normal sound is given on percussion. On aus- 
cultation, in the early stages, rhonchus rales are detected if the 
larger tubes are affected, and sibilant rales if the smaller ones are 
affected. Later mucous rales are noted, and sometimes all sounds 
in certain parts are absent, which is owing to the plugging up of the 
tubes. This plugging, if extensive enough, is sometimes the cause 
of death, or death may result from extension of the disease to the 
lungs or pleura. 

Treatment. — The animal should be placed in a light, well-venti- 
lated box, and the bowels kept in a soft condition by enemas, etc. 
Violent purgatives should not be used. The body should be kept 
warm by blanketing. In the early stages a draft composed as follows 
should be given three times daily: Extract of belladonna, 2 drams; 
solution of acetate of ammonium, 4 fluid ounces ; water, one-half pint. 
In the later stage of the disease the following formula may be sub- 
stituted and given twice daily : Carbonate of ammonium, 3 drams ; 
liquor hydrochlorate of strychnin, 2 fluid drams; spirits of nitrous 
ether, 1 fluid ounce ; water, one-half pint. 

In some cases the following is preferable to either of the above, 
and may be given in a pint of linseed tea every four hours : Spirits of 
nitrous ether, \\ ounces; aromatic spirits of ammonia, 2 ounces; 
powdered camphor, 2 drams. The feed should be light and nutri- 
tious. 

Bronchitis is liable to become chronic if not properly treated in 
the earliest stage. In this case remedial treatment is of little value. 

PLEURISY. 

Pleurisy is an inflammation of the serous membrane lining the 
chest cavity and enveloping the lungs. It is somewhat rare as an 
independent disease, but it often complicates pneumonia; indeed, it 
is often caused by the same germ that causes pneumonia — pneumo- 
coccus. It may arise from exposure to cold or wet or from external 
violence, and is usually present in some degree in cases in which the 
ribs have been fractured with or without a penetrated wound. 

Symptoms. — In the first stage there is great pain aggravated by 
movement, and the animal is usually stiff as though foundered, the 
pulse is quick and hard, the breathing abdominal, the chest being 
fixed so far as possible, the inspiration short and jerky, the expiration 
longer. The pain is caused by the friction of the dry, inflamed 
pleural surfaces of the lung and chest on each other. At this stage 
the ear detects a dry friction murmur, resembling somewhat the 
sound made by rubbing two pieces of sole leather together. Pres- 



94 DISEASES OF CATTEE. 

sure between the ribs gives pain and usually causes the animal to 
flinch and grunt. The muzzle is hot and dry, the mouth slimy, and 
the secretions scanty. After a day or two the severity of the symp- 
toms is much lessened, the temperature, which during the first days 
may have been as high as 106° F., falls to 103° or 104°, the pain 
decreases, the stiffness disappears, and the patient eats a little. The 
pulse softens, but remains quicker than normal. Now, day by day 
the patient loses a little strength, the friction sound disappears as 
the exudation moistens the pleural surfaces; percussion now shows 
a horizontal line of dullness, which day by day rises higher in the 
chest, the respiration grows more frequent and labored, the counte- 
nance is anxious and haggard, the eyes sink somewhat in their 
sockets, and in unfavorable cases death occurs during the second 
or third week, from either asphyxia or heart failure. 

In pleurisy, as in pneumonia, the elbows are usually turned out- 
ward. Care must be taken to differentiate pleurisy from traumatic 
pericarditis (which see). In the latter condition the area of dullness 
of the heart is much increased, and usually a splashing sound is 
heard at each beat of the heart. Another diagnostic symptom of 
value is that in traumatic pericarditis respiration is painful, not 
difficult, and the respiratory rate is very much increased on move- 
ment. In both conditions a considerable swelling of the dewlap may 
be noticed in the later stages. 

Treatment. — Give the same general care as recommended in bron- 
chitis or pneumonia. In the early stages give a febrifuge to reduce 
the fever, as directed for pneumonia. For relief of the cough give 
electuary formula, which will be found in the treatment of laryngitis. 
The bowels must be kept relaxed and the kidneys secreting freely. 
In the stage of effusion the following should be given three times 
daily: Digitalis tincture, 1 ounce; iodid of potassium, 30 to 60 
grains ; mix. Apply strong counterirritant to chest and put seton in 
dewlap. (See " Setoning," p. 291.) If collapse of the lung is threat- 
ened, a surgical operation, termed paracentesis thoracis, is sometimes 
performed ; this consists in puncturing the chest cavity and drawing 
off a part of the fluid. The instruments used are a small trocar and 
cannula, which are introduced between the eighth and ninth ribs. 
The skin should be drawn forward so that the external wound may 
not correspond to the puncture of the chest, to prevent the entrance 
of air. Only a portion of the fluid should be removed. The animal 
gets immediate relief, but it is generally only temporary, as the 
fluid has a tendency to accumulate again. 

PNEUMONIA. 

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung substance, and is divided 
into three forms, viz, croupous, catarrhal, and interstitial. These 



NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF RESPIRATORY ORGANS. 95 

various forms, however, can be differentiated only by the expert, and it 
is therefore deemed necessary for the purpose of the present work to 
treat the subject under the general head of pneumonia. 

The causes of pneumonia in general are the same as those of the 
various other inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract. The 
germ is called the pneumococcus. It mostly follows congestion of 
the lungs, but may in rare cases have a parasitic origin. 

Symptoms. — In the first stage, that of congestion, the disease is 
usually ushered in by a chill, although this may not always be 
observed by the attendant. This is followed by an elevation of tem- 
perature, usually 105° to 106° F., or it may be even higher. The 
respirations are quick and shallow; the nostrils are dilated; the pulse 
is full and hard. Cough may or may not appear in this stage. The 
nose is hot and dry; the tongue sometimes protrudes and is slimy; 
the coat is staring, and the skin dry and harsh. The urine is usually 
diminished in quantity, high colored, and the bowels constipated. 
The animal stands with the forelegs wide apart to facilitate respira- 
tion. On auscultation crepitation will be observed over the portion 
of the lung affected. The sounds elicted on percussion are practi- 
cally normal in this stage. 

In the second stage the temperature generally drops one or two 
degrees, and respiration is performed with much difficulty. The 
cough is frequent and painful. The animal still stands with the 
forelegs wide apart and the elbows turned outward. If it assumes 
the recumbent position it rests on the sternum. All secretions are 
more or less suspended, particularly the milk in cows. The animal 
has a haggard appearance, and the pulse becomes small and wiry at 
this period. The extremities are hot and cold alternately ; the crepi- 
tation which was present in the first stage is now absent, and no 
sound on auscultation is heard, unless it is a slight wheezing or 
whistling noise. On percussion dullness over the diseased lung is 
manifested, indicating consolidation. The lung has now assumed a 
characteristic liverlike appearance. 

In the third stage, if the disease is to terminate favorably, the 
cough becomes loose, the animal improves, the appetite returns, and 
the symptoms above detailed rapidly subside ; if, on the other hand, 
resolution is not progressing, the lung substance is broken down, is 
heavy, and sinks in water. In fatal cases the breath has a peculiar, 
fetid, cadaverous odor, and is taken in short gasps; the horns, ears, 
and extremities become cold and clammy, and the pulse is impercep- 
tible. On ausculation, when suppuration is taking place and the 
lung structure is breaking down, a bubbling or gurgling crepitation, 
caused by the passage of air through pus, is heard. 

Treatment. — Good hygienic surroundings and good nursing are 
essential in connection with the medical treatment. The probability 



96 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of recovery depends largely on the extent of the lung tissue involved, 
as well as on the intensity of the inflammatory process. In the early 
stage, when the fever is high, febrifuges should be given. If the 
pulse be strong and full, aconite (Fleming's tincture, 1 to 2 drams, 
every four or five hours) may be given for a short time, but should 
be discontinued as soon as the fever begins to abate. Aconite is a 
valuable drug in the hands of the intelligent practitioner, but my 
experience leads me to believe that not infrequently animals are lost 
by its injudicious use, for in many febrile conditions it is positively 
contraindicated, owing to its action upon the heart. In a plethoric 
animal, with a strong, bounding pulse, bleeding may be resorted to 
instead of administering aconite. If the bowels are constipated, 
calomel, 1 to 3 drams, which acts as a cathartic and a febrifuge, is 
advisable. In the second stage diffusible stimulants are required, 
viz : Spirits of nitrous ether, 2 ounces ; aromatic spirits of ammonia, 
1 ounce ; mix,» and give in gruel three times daily. If the above is 
not at hand, an alcoholic stimulant should be used. Half a pint of 
brandy or whisky may be given in a quart of gruel three times 
daily. In some cases carbonate of ammonia, 2 to 5 drams, has been 
found beneficial. Most practitioners apply counterirritants, such as 
mustard plasters, turpentine, and ammonia liniment, or cantharides. 

EMPHYSEMA (HEAVES). 

Emphysema is a rupture of the minute air vescicles of the lung 
substance, and may be either interlobular or vesicular. There is 
an extreme interference with respiration, inspiration being short 
and expiration prolonged. It is a nonfebrile condition, in which the 
appetite is not decreased and the milk secretion is kept up. It may 
be caused by an attack of asthma or may result from chronic bron- 
chitis. The disease can be diagnosed by the marked interference 
with respiration. The animal, as a rule, is emaciated, has a staring 
coat, and is hidebound. If percussion is resorted to, the animal's 
chest will give a tympanic, drumlike sound. The normal resonant 
sound is exaggerated. 

Treatment. — The disease is incurable, and only a palliative form of 
treatment can be carried out. The destruction of the animal is often 
advisable, from a humane as well as from a financial point of view. 

PULMONARY CONGESTION. 

Cattle that are overdriven or overworked are liable to pulmonary 
congestion in an acute form, and sometimes to pulmonary apoplexy. 
In such cases they should be allowed to rest, and if the weather 
is hot, they should be put in a shady place. Give stimulants inter- 
nally, unload the venous side of the heart by bleeding, and apply 
stimulating applications to the legs, and bandage. 



NONCONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF RESPIEATOEY OEGANS. 97 

HEMOPTYSIS. 

Hemoptysis is a term used to signify bleeding from the lungs. The 
trouble may result from a previous congestion of the lungs or from 
a breaking down of the lung substance, or from specific disorders. 

Bleeding from the lungs comes from both nostrils and from the 
mouth. The blood is bright red, frothy, and accompanied with a 
cough, the flow being somewhat profuse and intermingled with mu- 
cus. It may cease of its own accord. Internally hemostatics are in- 
dicated, and locally over the sides cold applications have a tendency 
to check the hemorrhage. A drench of 1| drams of gallic acid dis- 
solved in a pint of water should be given. 

ABSCESS OF THE LUNG. 

Abscesses of the lung sometimes form during the course of or sub- 
sequent to tuberculosis or other diseases. An animal affected with 
abscess of the lung usually has a protracted, feeble cough and a gen- 
eral appearance of emaciation and anemia. The pulse is feeble and 
the breath foul. An offensive discharge from the lungs frequently 
occurs. Percussion and auscultation aid in making a diagnosis in 
this condition. The appetite is poor. Such animals go from bad 
to worse, and their prompt destruction would, as a rule, be to the 
interest of the owner. 

HYDROTHORAX. 

Hydrothorax, or dropsy of the chest, is not a disease in itself, 
but is simply a condition in which an effusion takes place in the 
chest cavity, and is the result or effect of some disease, mostly pleu- 
risy. It can be easily diagnosed by physical signs. A loss of the res- 
piratory murmur will be noticed on auscultation, and on percussion 
dullness or flatness on a line as high as the effusion has taken place. 
When a large amount of effusion is present, tapping with the trocar 
and cannula is generally resorted to. The proper method of per- 
forming this operation will be found under the head of " Pleurisy." 

PNEUMOTHORAX. 

An accumulation of gas in the pleural sac is known as pneumo- 
thorax. The presence of air may result from either an injury of the 
lung or a wound communicating from the exterior. The indications 
for treatment are to remove any foreign body that may have pene- 
trated, to exclude the further entrance of the air into the cavity by 
the closure of the external opening, and to employ antiseptics and 
adhesive dressings. The air already in the cavity will in most cases 
be absorbed. 

33071°— 16 7 



98 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

VERMINOUS BRONCHITIS. 

This is a disease that sometimes attacks young cattle when pas- 
tured in low-lying meadows near rivers subject to flood. It is caused 
by a small worm, Strongylus micrurus, which lodges in large num- 
bers in the trachea and bronchial tubes, giving rise to considerable 
irritation of the air passages and inflammation. Sometimes the 
strongyles lodge in large numbers in the windpipe, forming them- 
selves into a ball, and thus choke the animal to death. 

Symptoms. — It is liable to attack a number of animals at once, and 
the weakest are the first to give way. The animal has a remarkably 
forcible cough, distressing, and of a special hacking and paroxysmal 
character. A stringy mucus is sometimes expelled during the spells 
of coughing. This mucus contains the Strongylus micrurus, which 
can be detected, or their ova observed, under a low power of the 
microscope. The attack has a subacute character and is very ex- 
hausting. The parasites, by becoming entwined in balls, seriously 
impede respiration, which is always remarkably labored in this 
disease. 

Treatment. — The affected calves should be placed in a dry stable, 
protected from dampness, and subjected to fumigations of sulphurous 
anhydrid or chlorin gas. The liberation of chlorin gas is brought 
about by the action of sulphuric acid, either on a mixture of chlorid 
of sodium and black oxid of manganese or on bleaching powder. 
Sulphurous anhydrid may be procured by burning sulphur. Some 
practitioners prescribe small doses of spirits of turpentine in linseed 
oil. The system requires good support, and the diet should therefore 
be liberal and nutritious. Equal parts of sulphate of iron, gentian, 
and ginger make an excellent tonic. 

Prevention. — Avoid pastures notorious for generating verminous 
bronchitis. 

PLEURODYNIA. 

Pleurodynia is a term applied to rheumatism of the intercostal 
muscles, the apparent symptoms being very similar to those of 
pleurisy. The animal is stiff, is not inclined to turn around, and 
the ribs are kept in a fixed state as much as possible. Pleurodynia 
may be distinguished from pleurisy by the coexistence of rheuma- 
tism in other parts and by the comparative absence of fever, cough, 
the friction sound, and the effusion into the chest. The treatment for 
this affection is the same as that for rheumatism affecting other 
parts. 



DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

By W. H. Harbaugh, V. S. 
[Revised by John R. Mohler, V. M. D.] 

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

The nervous system is the distinguishing feature of animal life. 
Without it there can be no intelligence, no instinct, no sensibility, no 
perception ; in fact, existence would be nothing more than vegetable 
life. 

The senses — touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell — all depend on the 
nervous system. Motion depends on it. A muscle can not contract 
without receiving the stimulus from the nervous system. For ex- 
ample, if a nerve passing from a nerve center to a muscle is severed, 
the particular muscle that is supplied by the cut nerve is paralyzed. 

The nervous system is often studied in two divisions — the cerebro- 
spinal division and the sympathetic division. 

The cerebrospinal division consists of the brain and spinal cord, 
nerves, and ganglia. The nerves of this division convey the impulses 
of motion and sensation and supply all parts which are under the 
control of the will. For example, the voluntary muscular tissue 
includes all the muscles which act as the will directs. Another ex- 
ample : If anything comes in contact with any part of the skin, the 
impression is immediately perceived. All the special senses belong 
to this division. 

The sympathetic division consists of nerves and ganglia. The 
muscular tissue, which acts independently of the will — as, for exam- 
ple, the stomach, intestines, womb, blood vessels, ducts, etc. — is called 
involuntary muscular tissue, and receives nervous stimulus from the 
sympathetic division. 

The brain, spinal cord, and the ganglia are the central organs of 
the nervous system. The nerves conduct the nervous influence. The 
nerves terminate differently according to their function. The termi- 
nations are called end organs. The terminal end organs in the skin 
and other parts endowed with sensation receive the impressions, which 
are conveyed to the brain, where they are appreciated. They are so 
sensitive that the most gentle zephyr is perceived. They are so 
abundant that the point of the finest needle can not pierce the skin 
without coming in contact with them, and the sensation of pain is 

99 



100 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

instantly conveyed to the brain. The terminal end organs of the 
nerves that supply the muscles are different, as they give the impulse 
which is conveyed by the motor nerves to the elements which consti- 
tute the muscle, and this impulse is the excitation which causes the 
muscle to contract. The terminal end organs of the special senses 
of taste, smell, etc., receive their special impressions, and their respec- 
tive nerves carry the impressions to the brain. 

There are two divisions of nerves, the afferent and efferent. 

The afferent nerves are those which convey the impression to the 
nerve centers. All the sensory nerves belong to this division. 

The efferent nerves are those which convey the nervous impulse 
outward from the nerve centers, and they are further classified ac- 
cording to the function of their respective centers. For example: 
Motor fibers carry the impulse from the nerve center to a muscle to 
cause contraction. Vasomotor fibers carry the impulse to the muscu- 
lar tissue in the blood vessels, which regulates their caliber. The 
secretory fibers convey the impulse to the cells of the glands and 
excite the activity of the gland, and its particular product is secreted 
or evolved, as, for instance, milk in the mammary gland. Inhibitory 
fibers control or inhibit the action of the organ to which they are 
distributed, as, for instance, the heart. 

Nerve centers may be considered as a collection or group of nerve 
cells. Both the cerebrospinal and the sympathetic divisions have 
nerve centers. The centers derive their special names from their 
functions. The brain is the great center of the nervous system, as it 
is the center of intelligence and perception. The centers of all the 
special senses, as well as the centers of various functions, are located 
in different parts of the brain. Nerve centers also exist in the spinal 
cord and in connection with the sympathetic system. 

A nerve is a cord consisting of a certain number of fibers of nerve 
tissue, inclosed in a sheath of connective tissue. Nerves divide and 
subdivide, sending off branches, which ramify in all parts of the 
body, and, as they near their terminations, they contain but one or 
two fibers. 

The brain and spinal cord are contained within a bony canal, 
which forms a protective covering for them. 

The spinal cord, or spinal marrow, lodged within the spinal canal, 
or hollow of the backbone, is continuous with the brain anteriorly, 
and terminates in a point in the sacrum (that part of the spinal 
column which immediately precedes the tail). The spinal cord gives 
off branches at each of the spaces between the segments of the back- 
bone. These branches form nerve trunks which carry both sensory 
and motor impressions and impulses. The spinal cord is a grand 
nerve trunk to carry messages to or from the brain and to and from 
the reflex centers contained within itself. 



DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 101 

The brain is contained within the cavity of the skull and is con- 
tinuous with the spinal cord; there is nothing to mark the place 
where one leaves off and the other begins. The brain is the seat of 
reason and intelligence. Voluntary effort originates from the brain. 
Coordination, or harmony of movement, is controlled by the rear 
portion of the brain, known as the cerebellum. 

The meninges are the membranes, three in number, which envelop 
the brain and spinal cord, and separate them from the bones which 
form the walls of the cranial cavity and spinal canal. 

The sympathetic, also called the ganglionic, division of the nervous 
system consists of two chains of ganglia, reaching from the head to 
the tail, situated beneath the spinal column, one on either side. The 
presence of the ganglia or enlargements on the cords give them their 
chainlike appearance. 

The sympathetic nerves are closely connected with the cerebro- 
spinal nerves, but are not under the control of the will. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN AND ITS MEMBRANES (STAGGERS). 

Inflammation of the brain is technically termed encephalitis and 
of its membranes cerebral-meningitis, but as both conditions usually 
occur together, and since it is practically impossible to distinguish 
one from the other by the s}^mptoms shown by the diseased animal, 
they may as well be considered together here as varieties of the same 
disease. Staggers, coma, frenzy, etc., are terms that are sometimes 
applied to this disease in its different forms or stages. 

Causes. — Severe blows on the head with a hard object, or the head 
coming violently in contact with the ground or other hard substance 
in a fall, may be followed by encephalitis. Irritation caused by 
tumors in the brain may produce inflammation. Feed containing 
deleterious matters — for example, ergot (see PI. V) and other fungi 
which contain a narcotic principle — is the most frequent cause of this 
affection, and hence it is often called " grass staggers " and " stomach 
staggers." Highly nitrogenous feeds are blamed for causing this dis- 
ease. Parasites, mineral and narcotic poisons, hot weather, and 
severe exertion or excessive excitement may cause this condition. 
Inflammation of the brain may occur as a complication of some infec- 
tious disease or may follow some forms of indigestion. In many 
localities certain plants have the reputation of causing staggers. 

/Symptoms. — The sj-mptoms vary much, but a careful observer will 
detect a trouble connected w T ith the nervous system without much 
uncertainty. The first signs may be those of frenzy, but generally 
at the start the animal is dull and sleepy, with little or no inclination 
to move about; the head may be pressed against the wall or fence 
and the legs kept moving, as if the animal were endeavoring to walk 
through the obstruction; the body, especially the hind part, may be 



102 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

leaned against the side of the stall or stable, as if for support. The 
bowels are constipated; the urine, when passed, is small in quantity 
and darker in color than natural. There may be trembling and even 
spasms of muscles in different parts. In the dull stage the animal 
may breathe less frequently than is natural, and each breath may be 
accompanied with a snoring-like sound. The pulse may be large and 
less frequent than normal. If suddenly aroused from the drowsy 
state, the animal appears startled and stares wildly. When moving 
about it may stagger, the hind quarters swaying from side to side. 

If delirium ensues, the cow is commonly said to be mad. She may 
bellow, stamp her feet, run about wildly, grate the teeth, froth at the 
mouth. If she is confined in the stable, she rears and plunges; the 
convulsions are so violent in many instances that it is really danger- 
ous for one to attempt to render aid. The body may be covered with 
perspiration. She may fall; the muscle's twitch and jerk; often the 
head is raised and then dashed against the ground until blood issues 
from the nose and mouth ; the eyes may be bloodshot and sightless ; 
the limbs stiff and outstretched, or they may be kicked about reck- 
lessly ; the head may be drawn back and the tail drawn up ; the urine 
may be squirted out in spurts; often the " washer" (membrane nicti- 
tans) is forced over the eye. When the convulsions cease they may 
be followed by a period of quiet unconsciousness (coma) which is 
more or less prolonged, when the animal may gradually regain con- 
sciousness, get up on its feet, and perhaps quietly partake of food, if 
there be any within reach, while at other times it arises with much 
difficulty and staggers blindly about the stall or field. 

It must be remembered that all the foregoing symptoms are not 
always seen in the same case. In those cases usually designated 
" sleepy staggers " the general symptoms of drowsiness are presented, 
while in other cases the symptoms of frenzy cause the affection to be 
called u mad staggers." In other cases there are symptoms of paraly- 
sis, swaying of the hind quarters, inability to rise, etc., and sometimes 
these symptoms of paralysis are the most striking manifestations and 
continue until death. Acute cases are accompanied by fever. 

It is well to remark that when the disease follows injuries to the 
head the symptoms may not be manifested until two or three days 
(or longer) after the accident. 

Treatment. — Recoveries are rare in spite of careful attention. To 
be of any service whatever the treatment must be prompt and begin 
with the disease. In the early stage, when the pulse is large, most 
cases will admit of bleeding. Eight or 9 quarts of blood should be 
taken from the jugular vein. This should be followed immediately 
by a purgative, the following for a cow of average size : Epsom salt, 
24 ounces; pulverized gamboge, one-half ounce; croton oil, 20 drops; 
warm water, 3 quarts; mix all together and give at once as a drench. 



DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 103 

About 2 quarts of warm water or warm soapsuds should be injected 
with a syringe into the rectum every three or four hours. It is best 
to keep the animal in a quiet, sheltered place, where it will be free 
from noise or other cause of excitement. All the cold water the ani- 
mal will drink should be allowed, but feed must be withheld, except 
bran slops occasionally in small quantities, or grass, if in season, 
which may be cut and carried fresh to the patient. 

The skull must be examined, and if sign of injury is found, appro- 
priate surgical treatment should be given. 

During the convulsions all possible efforts should be made to pre- 
vent the animal injuring itself. The head should be held down on 
the ground and straw kept under it. Cold water may be continu- 
ously poured on the head, or bags filled with ice broken in small 
pieces may be applied to the head. Different authors recommend 
different remedies to allay the convulsions, but for two reasons it will 
be found extremely difficult to administer medicines during the con- 
vulsions : ( 1 ) While the animal is unconscious the power to swallow 
is lost, and therefore the medicine is more liable to go down the wind- 
pipe to the lungs than it is to go to the paunch; (2) the convulsions 
are often so violent that it would be utterly useless to attempt to 
drench the animal ; and furthermore it must be borne in mind that 
during this stage the functions of digestion and absorption are sus- 
pended, and as a consequence the medicine (provided it finds its way 
to the paunch) is likely to remain there unabsorbed and therefore 
useless. 

A blistering compound, composed of mustard, 1 ounce ; pulverized 
cantharides, one-half ounce ; hot water, 4 ounces, well mixed together, 
may be rubbed in over the loins, along the spine, and back of the 
head on each side of the neck. This is occasionally attended with 
beneficial effect, and especially so in those cases when paralysis is 
present. 

If the purgative acts and the animal shows signs of improvement 
in the course of two or three days, 2 drams of iodid of potassium may 
be given every night and morning, dissolved in a half bucketful of 
drinking water, if the animal will drink it, or it may be dissolved in a 
half pint of water and given as a drench. Great care must be ob- 
served in regard to the food, which should be nutritive, but not coarse, 
and at first in small quantities, gradually increased as the patient 
improves. After some progress is made toward recovery 1£ drams 
of pulverized nux vomica may be given twice a day, added to the 
iodid of potassium drench. This should be administered so long as a 
staggering gait continues. 

In those rare cases when recovery takes place it is only partial as a 
rule, as there is generally a sequel which remains, such as partial 
paralysis. However, this is but a slight drawback in cattle, because 



104 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

when it is seen to persist the medicine should be stopped and the ani- 
mal fattened for butchering. 

Post-mortem examinations discover congestion of the brain and its 
membranes. In those cases which have exhibited much paralysis of 
the hind legs before death the cord may be congested in the lumbar 
region (loins). When the disease has been caused by injury to the 
head, the congestion and extravasated blood may be found inside of 
the cavity in the location corresponding to the place where the injury 
was inflicted externally. In some cases pus is also discovered. It 
remains to be said that in all animals that have died from this affec- 
tion the lungs are found very much congested. This may lead the 
superficial observer to suppose that the disease was a lung affection, 
but in fact it is only a natural consequence when death ensues from 
brain disease. 

APOPLEXY. 

That form of congestion of the brain known as parturient apo- 
plexy, or parturient paresis, which is so frequently associated with 
the period of calving is described in another part of this work. (See 
"Milk fever," p. 224.) 

Cerebral apoplexy, not connected with parturition, is a rare disease 
among cattle. However, it may be due to degeneration and conse- 
quent rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. 

The attack is sudden, the animal in most cases falling as if it had 
received a blow on the head. It may stagger and reel some time 
before going down. After falling, there are convulsive movements 
of the legs or the animal sinks into insensibility. There may be re- 
missions in the severity of the symptoms, but the pressure from the 
continued escape of blood soon causes death. Rest, quiet, friction 
to the legs and surface, frequent turning of the animal and cold to 
the head are to be practiced, if treatment is attempted. 

CONGESTION OF THE BRAIN. 

There is a form of congestive apoplexy affecting cattle which are 
in a plethoric condition. The congestion, or overfilling with blood, 
causes pressure on the brain substance and disorganizes its function. 
It occurs mostly in hot weather. In this disease the symptoms are 
somewhat similar to those exhibited when the animal has enceph- 
alitis, but the onset is more sudden, the duration is shorter, and 
there is less fever. There may be frenzy or coma, or alternations one 
with the other. The intelligence is diminished, staring eyes, bracing 
with the legs, pressing against the stall partition or manger, red 
mucous membranes. This condition usually terminates in recovery. 

In such cases bleeding should be resorted to immediately, and 
when the power of swallowing is not lost purgatives should be ad- 



DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 105 

ministered. Cold applications to the head and the general treat- 
ment recommended for encephalitis are indicated. 

CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN. 

Severe blows on the head, striking the head against some hard 
object while running, or falling on the head may cause concussion 
of the brain. The injury may fracture bones of the cranium and 
produce compression of the brain. 

Symptoms and treatment. — The symptoms and the treatment that 
is indicated differ very little from what has been said under conges- 
tion of the brain and under encephalitis. In some cases it may be 
necessary to operate to remove a piece of bone that is pressing on the 
brain or to remove a clot of blood under the area which received the 
blow. 

EPILEPSY. 

This affection is characterized by the occurrence of sudden con- 
vulsions. The animal may appear to be in a fair state of health 
usually, but at any time, in the stable or in the field, it may have a 
convulsion in which it will fall and lose consciousness. Epilepsy 
must not be confounded with vertigo — the fainting which is an effect 
of heart troubles. 

The exact cause of epilepsy in the majority of cases is unknown. 
Post-mortem examinations in many instances have failed to discover 
any lesion in connection with the brain or nervous system; while in 
other instances disease of the brain has been found in the form of 
thickening of the membranes, abscesses, and tumors, and in some 
cases the affection has been manifested in connection with a diseased 
condition of the blood. The cause has also been traced to reflex 
irritation, due to teething, worms, and chronic indigestion. 

Treatment. — When the affection is due to the last-named causes 
treatment may be successful if the cause is removed. If there are 
symptoms of worms or of indigestion, follow the general treatment 
advised for those troubles under their proper heads. If due to irrita- 
tion caused by teething, the inflamed gums must be lanced. Exami- 
nation of the mouth often develops the fact that one of the temporary 
teeth causes much irritation by remaining unshed, and thereby inter- 
fering with the growth of a permanent tooth. The offending tooth 
should be extracted. When the cause of epilepsy can not be dis- 
covered, it must be confessed that there is no prospect of a cure. 
However, some benefit may be expected from the occasional admin- 
istration of a purgative dose of medicine. A pound of Epsom salt 
dissolved in a quart of warm water, for a cow of average size, may be 
given as a drench once or twice a month. In addition to the purga- 
tive, 4 drams of bromid of potassium, dissolved in the drinking 
water, three times a day, has proved very beneficial in some cases. 



106 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

SUNSTROKE (PROSTRATION FROM HEAT). 

Owing to the fact that cattle are seldom put to work at which they 
would have to undergo severe exertion, especially in collars, they are 
not frequently prostrated by the extreme heat of the summer months. 
When at pasture they select the coolest places in the shade of trees, 
in water, etc., when the heat becomes oppressive, and thereby avoid, 
as much as possible, the effects of it. 

It does happen, however, that cattle that have been kept up for the 
purpose of fattening, when driven some distance in very hot weather, 
are sometimes prostrated, but it must be remembered that it is not 
really necessary for the animal to be exposed to the rays of the sun, as 
those confined in hot, close places may suffer. This often happens in 
shipping, when they are crowded together in cars. 

Symptoms. — The premonitory signs are those of exhaustion — dull- 
ness, panting, frothing at the mouth, tongue hanging out, irregular 
gait, uneasiness, palpitation — when, if the circumstances which tend 
to the prostration are not mitigated, the animal staggers or sways 
from side to side, falls, struggles for a while, and then gradually 
becomes quiet, or the struggles may continue, with repeated but inef- 
fectual efforts to regain a standing position. In serious cases the 
attack may be very sudden, unconsciousness occurring without con- 
tinued or distressing premonitory symptoms. 

Treatment. — At first, when not very serious, removal to a quiet, 
sheltered place, with a few days on a reduced diet, is all that need be 
done. When the animal has fallen, apply cold water or ice to the 
head ; rub the body and limbs with cloths or wisps of straw and continue 
the rubbing for a considerable time. If the power of swallow- 
ing is not lost (which may be ascertained by pouring a little cold 
water into the mouth), give 3 drams of stronger liquor ammonia, 
diluted with a quart of cold water. Be very careful in drenching the 
animal when lying down. Repeat the drench in a half hour and an 
hour after the first one has been given. Instead of the ammonia, a 
drench composed of 3 ounces of spirits of nitrous ether in a pint of 
water may be given, if more convenient, but the ammonia drench 
is preferable. If unconsciousness continues, so that a drench can not 
be administered, the same quantity of ammonia and water may be 
injected with a syringe into the rectum. The popular aqua ammonia, 
commonly called " hartshorn," will do as well as the stronger liquor 
ammonia, but as it is weaker than the latter the dose for a cow is 
about 1| ounces, which should be diluted with a quart of water before 
it is given to the animal, either as a drench or an enema. When 
ammonia can not be obtained, a pint of whisky in a quart of water 
or an ounce of tincture of digitalis may be given. 



DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 107 

As soon as the animal is able to rise it should be assisted and 
moved to the nearest shelter. All the cold water it will drink should 
be allowed. The ammonia or spirits of nitrous ether drench should 
be administered every three hours so long as there is much failure 
of strength. The diet should be limited for several days — bran slops 
and a little grass. When signs of returning strength are presented, 
12 ounces of Epsom salts dissolved in a quart of warm water may be 
given in those cases which have been down and unconscious, but 
do not give it while much weakness remains, which may be for 
several days after the attack. The flesh of an animal that is suffer- 
ing from heat stroke should not be prepared for use as food. On 
account of the fever with which the animal suffers, the flesh contains 
toxins that may render it poisonous to the consumer. 

INJURIES TO THE SPINAL CORD. 

The spinal cord is liable to concussion from blows and falls, and 
paralysis, to a greater or less extent, may be the result. Fracture, 
with displacement of the bones (vertebra?) which form the spinal 
column, by compressing the spinal cord, produces paralysis, which 
varies in its effect according to the part of the cord that is com- 
pressed. If the fracture is above the middle of the neck, death soon 
follows, as communication between the brain and diaphragm (the 
essential muscle of inspiration) is stopped. When the fracture is 
farther down in the neck, posterior to the origin of the phrenic nerve, 
the breathing continues, but there is paralysis in all parts posterior 
to the fracture, including the fore and hind legs. When the fracture 
is in the region of the loins the hind legs are paralyzed, but the fore 
legs are not. If the fracture is in the sacrum (the division of the 
spinal column between the loins and the tail), the tail alone is 
paralyzed. 

As a matter of course, when the back is broken there is no remedy ; 
the animal should be killed at once. 

PARALYSIS. 

Paralysis, or loss of motion in a part, may be due to a lesion of 
the brain, of the spinal cord, or of a nerve. It may also be caused 
by reflex irritation. When the paralysis affects both sides of the 
body, posterior to a point, it is further designated by the name 
paraplegia. When one side of the body (a lateral half) is para- 
lyzed, the term hemiplegia is applied to the affection. When paral- 
ysis is caused by a lesion of a nerve, the paralysis is confined to the 
particular part supplied by the affected nerve. 

As already pointed out, paralysis may be due to concussion of the 
spine, fracture of a bone of the spinal column with consequent com- 



108 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

pression of the spinal cord, concussion of the brain, or compression 
of the brain. An injury to one side of the brain may produce 
paralysis of the same side of the head and of the opposite side of the 
body (hemiplegia). Paralysis may occur in connection with par- 
turient apoplexy, lead poisoning, ergotism, etc. 

CONGESTION OF THE SPINAL CORD. 

Paraplegia, or paralysis of the rear part of the body, is the domi- 
nant symptom in congestion or inflammation of the spinal cord. The 
cause is not known, but the disease is probably due to chilling. It is 
thought by some that some toxic influence (poison) may be responsi- 
ble for its development. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms usually appear suddenly and consist 
in inability to stand. Sometimes this is preceded by a period of 
excitement. The animal usually lies quietly, but sometimes it groans 
and tosses its head about in a way that indicates pain. Cows heavy 
with calf are sometimes affected with a form of paraplegia, which 
usually attacks them from about a month to a few days before 
calving. Apparently they are in good health in every respect ex- 
cept the inability to stand up on account of the paralysis of the 
hind quarters. This form is generally attributed to feeding on feeds 
containing insufficient protein and ash. It is most likely to occur in 
cows that are weak and thin. With good care and feed recovery 
usually occurs. 

Treatment. — The animal must be given a soft, dry bed under shel- 
ter and in a quiet, airy place. It is well to apply mustard along the 
spine. The action of the mustard may be intensified by rubbing 
the skin with ammonia or turpentine. Internally give a purge of 
Glauber's salt. Nux vomica or strychnia (1 to 2 grain doses) may 
be given. Turn the cow two to four times daily and rub the legs 
well each time. 

There are instances when cows will persist in lying down (in spite 
of all efforts that are made to compel them to stand up), when it can 
not really be said that they are paralyzed. They have sensation in 
all parts; they can move all their feet; they can change their posi- 
tion; and in fact every function seems to be normally performed, 
but they obstinately refuse to rise or even make an effort to do so. 
Cases of this kind have been killed, as it was an utter impossibility 
to get the animal on its feet. However, there are instances when a 
cow, after refusing to rise when all other means had been tried, 
quickly jumped to her feet and showed fright upon the appearance 
of a dog or other terrifying object. 



DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 109 

RABIES (HYDROPHOBIA). 

[See discussion of this disease in chapter on " Infectious diseases," p. 356.] 

LIGHTNING STROKE (ASPHYXIA ELECTRICA). 

When an animal is struck by lightning the shock is instantaneously 
expended on the nervous system, and as a rule death occurs immedi- 
ately; but when the shock is not fatal animation is suspended to a 
greater or less extent, as evidenced by prostration, unconsciousness, 
and paralysis. 

Symptoms. — When not fatal, the symptoms vary much, according 
to the severity of the shock. The animal usually falls, as from an 
apoplectic attack, and, as a matter of course, the symptoms are such 
as are generally manifested in connection with concussion of the 
brain. The muscular system may be completely relaxed; the legs 
limber ; the muscles flabby and soft to the touch ; or there may be con- 
vulsions, spasms, and twitching of the muscles. The breathing is 
generally labored, irregular, or interrupted, and slower than normal. 
In most instances the electrical fluid leaves its mark by singeing the 
hair, or by inflicting wounds, burns, or blisters. 

Treatment. — So long as the beating of the heart is perceptible the 
endeavor to resuscitate the animal should be continued. Dash cold 
water over the head and body ; rub the body and legs ; smartly whip 
the body with wet towels or switches. Mustard, mixed with water, 
should be well rubbed over the legs and back of the head on each side 
of the neck. Inject into the rectum 4 drams of stronger liquor 
ammonia, or H ounces of hartshorn diluted with a quart of warm 
water. Cautiously hold an uncorked bottle of hartshorn to the nos- 
trils, so that some of it is inhaled, but care should be taken that too 
much is not suddenly inhaled. If the animal is unconscious, hypo- 
dermic injections of stimulants are indicated, such as 6 drams of 
camphorated oil in one dose, subcutaneously, or 20 grains of caffein 
or | grain of strychnin, also subcutaneously. 

When the animal revives sufficiently to be able to swallow, 4 drams 
of the stronger liquor ammonia, diluted with a quart of cold water, 
should be given as a drench, and the dose should be repeated in an 
hour. One and one-half ounces of ordinary hartshorn may be used 
instead of the stronger liquor ammonia, but, like the latter, it should 
be diluted with a quart or more of water, and even then care should 
be exercised in drenching. 

In cases where the shock has not caused complete insensibility 
recovery may be hastened by the ammonia and water drench, or 4 
ounces of brandy diluted with a quart of water, or 8 ounces of whisky 
diluted with a quart of water. These doses may be given every three 
or four hours if necessary. After recovery from the more serious 
symptoms 2 drams of sulphate of quinin should be given twice a 



HO DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

day until health is restored. If any paralysis remains 1^ drams of 
pulverized nux vomica should be given twice a day with the quinin. 
The foregoing treatment is also applicable when the electrical 
shock is given by telephone, electric car, or electric-light wires, etc. 
The wounds, burns, or blisters should be treated according to the 
antiseptic method of treating wounds. 

TUMORS IN THE BRAIN, ETC. 

Tumors of different kinds have been found within the cranial cav- 
ity, and in many cases there have been no well-marked symptoms 
exhibited during the life of the animal to lead one to suspect their 
existence. Cases are recorded where bony tumors have been found 
in the brain of cattle that died suddenly, but during life no signs of 
disease were manifested. Post-mortem examinations have disclosed 
tubercles in the membranes of the brain. (See "Tuberculosis," p. 
405.) Abscesses, usually the result of inflammation of the brain, 
have been found post-mortem. For the description of hydrocephalus, 
or dropsy of the brain, of calves the reader is referred to the section 
on parturition. (See " Water in the head," p. 177.) 

Chorea, constant twitching and irregular spasmodic movements of 
the muscles, has been noticed in connection with or as a sequel to 
other affections, as, for example, parturient apoplexy. 

Various diseases, the description of which will be found in other 
sections of this work, affect the nervous system to a greater or less 
extent — for example, ergotism, lead poisoning, uremia, parturient 
apoplexy, colic, and other affections associated with cramps, or 
spasms, etc. Disease of the ovaries or of the spinal cord, by reflex 
irritation, may cause estromania (see " Excess of venereal desire," 
p. 116, constant desire for the bull). 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 

By James Law, F. R. C. V. S., 
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University. 

Of the materials that have served their purpose in building up the 
animal body or in sustaining the body temperature, and that are 
now to be thrown out as waste, the greater part are expelled from the 
system through the lungs and the kidneys, but the agents that pass 
out by either of these two channels differ in the main from those 
passing by the other. Thus from the lungs in the form of dioxid 
of carbon — the same gas that comes from burning of coal or oil — 
there escapes most of the waste material resulting from the destruc- 
tion in the system of fats, sugars, starch, and such other foods as are 
wanting in the element nitrogen, and do not form fibrous tissues, but 
go mainly to support animal heat or maintain functional activity. 
From the kidneys, on the other hand, are thrown out the waste prod- 
ucts resulting from the destruction of the foods and tissues contain- 
ing nitrogen — of, for instance, albumin, fibrin, gluten, casein, gela- 
tin, woody tissue, etc. While much of the waste material containing 
nitrogen leaves the body by the bowels, this is virtually only such of 
the albuminoid food as has failed to be fully digested and absorbed; 
this has never formed a true constituent part of the body itself or 
of the blood, but is so much waste- food, like that which has come 
to the table and again carried away unused. If the albuminoid 
food element has entered the blood, whether or not it has been built 
up into a constituent part of the structure of the body, its waste 
products, which contain nitrogen, are in the main expelled through 
the kidneys, so that the latter become the principal channels for 
the expulsion of all nitrogen-containing w T aste. 

It would be an error, however, to infer that all nitrogenous food, 
when once digested and absorbed into the blood, must necessarily 
leave the system in the urine. On the contrary, in the young and 
growing animal, all increase of the fibrous structures of the body is 
gained through the building up of those flesh-forming constituents 
into their substance; in the pregnant animal the growth of the off- 
spring and its envelopes has a similar origin, and in the dairy cow 
the casein or curd of the milk is a means of constant elimination of 
these nitrogen-containing agents. Thus, in the breeding cow and, 
above all, in the milking cow t , the womb or udder carries on a work 
in one sense equivalent to that otherwise performed by the kidneys. 

Ill 



112 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Not only are these organs alike channels for the excretion of albu- 
minous products, but they are also related to each other structurally 
and by nervous sympathy, so that suffering in the one is liable to 
induce some measure of disorder in the other. 

As in the case of other mammals, this nitrogenous waste matter is 
mainly present in the urine of cattle in the form of urea, but also, to 
some extent, as hippuric acid, a derivative of vegetable food which, in 
the herbivora, replaces the uric acid found in the urine of man and 
carnivora. Uric acid is, however, found in the urine of sucking 
calves which have practically an animal diet, and it may also appear 
in the adult in case of absolute, prolonged starvation, and in diseases 
attended with complete loss of appetite and rapid wasting of the 
body. In such cases the animal lives on its own substance, and the 
product is that of the wasting flesh. 

The other products containing nitrogen are present in only small 
quantities and need not be specially referred to. The urine of cattle 
contains much less of carbonates than that of the horse, and effer- 
vesces less on the addition of an acid. As the carbonates form 
a large proportion of the solid deposits (gravel, stone) from the 
horse's urine, the ox may thus be held less liable, yet even in the ox 
the carbonates become abundant or scanty, according to the nature 
of the feed, -and therefore gravel, formed by carbonate of lime, is not 
infrequent in cattle. When fed on beets, clover hay, or bean straw 
carbonates are present in large quantities, these aliments being rich 
in organic acids and alkaline carbonates; whereas upon oat straw, 
barley straw, and, above all, wheat straw, they are in small amount. 
In calves fed on milk alone no carbonates are found in the urine. 

Phosphates, usually in combination with lime, are, as a rule, pres- 
ent only in traces in the urine of cattle; however, on a dietary of 
wheat, bran, or other aliment rich in phosphates, these may be pres- 
ent in large amount, so that they render the liquid cloudy or are 
deposited in solid crystals. The liquid is rendered transparent by 
nitric acid. 

The cow's urine, on a diet of hay and potatoes, contained : 

Parts. 

Urea 18. 5 

Potassic hippurate 16. 5 

Alkaline lactates 17. 2 

Potassium bicarbonate 16. 1 

Magnesium carbonate 4. 7 

Lime carbonate 0. 6 

Potassium sulphate 3. 6 

Common salt 1. 5 

Silica Trace 

Phosphates 0. 

Water and undetermined substances 921. 3 

Total 1, 000. 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS, 



113 



The following table after Tereg l gives the different conditions of 
the urine, and especially the amount of urea and hippuric acid under 
different rations. The subjects were two oxen, weighing, respectively, 
1,260 pounds and 1,060 pounds: 



Feed per day (pounds). 



16.90 wheat straw, and 1.30 bean 
meal 

14.70 oat straw, and 2.30 bean meal.. 

10.4 wheat straw, 10.4 clover hay, 
0.6 bean meal, and 2.6 starch 

10.4 wheat straw, 10.4 clover hay, 
2.7 bean meal, 1.4 starch, and 0.8 
sugar 

10.4 wheat straw, 10.4 clover hay, 5 
bean meal, and 0.8 sugar , 

10 wheat straw, 10 clover hay, 6.4 
bean meal, 1.7 starch, 4 sugar, and 
0.4 rape oil '. 

10 wheat straw, 10 clover hay, 9.4 
bean meal, 3.1 sugar, and 0.4 rape 
oil 

10 wheat straw, 10 clover hay, 11.7 
bean meal, 2.8 starch, and 0.5 rape 
oil 

17.86 bean straw, and 1.6 bean meal. 

14.88 bean straw 

16.90 meadow hay 















AS 














•d 




.e a 




>> 




S 




5 


g 




c2 


O 


03 




03 


_jj> 


a 


3 




tut-a c3 


'2 


Pi 




.9 


a 
s 


3 


ft 


S3 
o 


>- 3 u 


n3 


03 
C 


P 


ft 


w 


W 


£> 


£ 


e 


i= 




Lbs. 


Lbs. 




P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


P.ct. 


Ozs. 


46.46 


7.40 


1,036 


8.41 


2.66 


1.33 


0.83 


0.94 


1.63 


61.10 


15.26 


1,039 


6.93 


2.09 


0.84 


0.55 


0.49 


2.2 


71.76 


12.36 


1,043 


8.05 


0.95 


1.85 


0.93 


0.94 


3.83 


80.54 
78.96 


12.46 
17.62 


1,044 
1,043 


8.29 
8.41 


S.07 
0.74 


2.41 
3.12 


1.19 
1.45 


1.11 
1.24 


5.8 
9.17 


110. 12 


25.86 


1,038 


7.00 


0.31 


2.49 


1.19 


1.25 


10.9 


10.1. 80 


27.04 


1,037 


7.14 


0.20 


2.95 


1.39 


1.58 


13.3 


119.00 
54.84 


23.20 
12.60 


1,038 
1,043 


7.74 
7.06 


0.21 
0.40 


4.06 
2.53 


1.91 
1.21 


1.69 
1.15 


15.4 
5.3 


55.76 
36.26 


16.34 
15.14 


1,036 
1,042 


5.45 
7.91 


0.11 
1.30 


1.41 
1.73 


0.67 
0.91 


0.64 
0.92 


3.83 
4.37 



Ozs. 
3.23 
5.3 

1.96 



2.1 
2.17 

1.33 

0.9 



0.8 
0.83 
0.3 
3.3 



The varying quantity of urea (from 1.6 to 15.1 ounces) is most sug- 
gestive as to the action of the more or less nitrogenous feed and the 
resulting concentration of the urine and blood. Hippuric acid, on 
the other hand, is most abundant when the animal is fed on hay and 
straw. 

The specific gravity of the urine of cattle varies from 1,030 to 1,060 
in health, water being 1,000. It is transparent, with a yellowish tinge, 
and has a characteristic, musky smell. The chemical reaction is alka- 
line, turning red litmus paper blue. The quantity passed in twenty- 
four hours varies greatly, increasing not only with the water drunk, 
but with the albuminoids taken in with the feed and the urea pro- 
duced. If a solution of urea is injected into the veins the secretion 
of urine is greatly augmented. Similarly the excess of salts like car- 
bonate of potash in the feed, or of sugar, increases the action of the 
kidneys. Only about 20 per cent of the water swallowed escapes in 



33071°— 16- 



1 Encyklop. dcr Thicrheilk., Vol. IV, p. 208. 

-S 



114 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the urine, the remaining 80 per cent passing mostly from the lungs, 
and to a slight extent by the bowels. The skin of the ox does not 
perspire so readily nor so freely as that of the horse; hence the 
kidneys and lungs are called upon for extra work. The influence 
of an excess of water in the feed is most remarkable in swill-fed 
distillery cattle, which urinate profusely and frequently, yet thrive 
and fatten rapidly. 

Among the other conditions that increase the flow of urine is over- 
filling of (internal pressure in) the blood vessels of the kidneys; 
hence the contraction of the blood vessels of the skin by cold drives 
the blood inward, tends to dilate the blood vessels of the kidneys, 
and to increase the secretion of urine. Nervous disorders, such as 
excitement, fear, congestions, or structural injuries to the back part 
of the base of the brain, have a similar result, hence, doubtless, the 
action of certain fungi growing in musty hay or oats in producing 
profuse flow of urine, whereas other forms of musty fodder cause 
stupor, delirium, or paralysis. Bacteria and their products are 
mainly expelled by the kidneys, and become sources of local infection, 
irritation, and disease. 

The quantit} 7 of urine passed daily by an ox on dry feeding aver- 
ages 7 to 12 pints, but this may be increased enormously on a watery 
diet. 

The mutual influence of the kidneys and other important organs 
tends to explain the way in which disease in one part supervenes on 
preexisting disorder in another. The introduction of albuminoids in 
excess into the blood means the formation of an excess of urea, and a 
more profuse secretion of urine, of a higher specific gravity, and 
with a greater tendency to deposit its solid constituents, as gravel, in 
the kidneys or bladder. A torpid action of the liver, leaving the 
albuminoids in transition forms, less soluble than the urea into which 
they should have been changed, favors the onset of rheumatism or of 
nervous disorder, the deposit of such albuminoid products in the kid- 
neys, the formation of a deep-brown or reddish urine, and congestion 
of the kidneys. Any abnormal activity of the liver in the production 
of sugar — more than can be burned up in the circulation — over- 
stimulates the kidneys and produces increased flow of a heavy urine 
with a sweetish taste. This increased production of sugar may be 
primarily due to disease of the brain, which, in its turn, determines 
the disorder of the liver. Disease of the right side of the heart or of 
the lungs, by obstructing the onward flow of blood from the veins, 
increases the blood pressure in the kidneys and produces disorder 
and excessive secretion. Inactivity of the kidneys determines an 
increase in the blood of waste products, which become irritating to 
different parts, producing skin eruptions, itching, dropsies, and nerv- 
ous disorders. Sprains of the loins produce bleeding from the kid- 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 115 

neys and disease of the spinal cord, and sometimes determine albumi- 
nous or milky looking urine. 

The kidney of the ox (PI. IX, fig. 1) is a compound organ made up 
of 15 to 25 separate lobules like so many separate kidneys, but all 
pouring their secretion into one common pouch (pelvis) situated in 
an excavation in the center of the lower surface. While the ox is the 
only domesticated quadruped which maintains this divided condition 
of the kidney after birth, this condition is common to all while at an 
early stage of development in the womb. The cluster of lobules 
making up a single kidney forms an ovoid mass flattened from above 
downward, and extending from the last rib backward beneath the 
loins and to one side of the solid chain of the backbone. The right 
is more firmly attached to the loins and extends farther backward 
than the left. Deeply covered in a mass of suet, each kidney has a 
strong outer, white, fibrous covering, and inside this two successive 
layers of kidney substance, of which the outer is that in which the 
urine is mainly separated from the blood and poured into the fine, 
microscopic urinary ducts. (PL X, fig. 1) These latter, together 
with blood vessels, lymph vessels, and nerves, make up the second, or 
internal, layer. The outer layer is mainly composed of minute glob- 
ular clusters of microscopic, intercommunicating blood vessels (Mal- 
pighian bodies), each of which is furnished with a fibrous capsule 
that is nothing else than the dilated commencement of a urine tube. 
These practically microscopic tubes follow at first a winding course 
through the outer layer (Ferrein's tubes), then form a long loop 
(doubling on itself) in the inner layer (Henle's loop), and finally 
pass back through the inner layer (Bellini's tubes) to open through 
a conical process into the common pouch (pelvis) on the lower surface 
of the organ. (PL X, figs. 1, 2, 3.) 

The tube that conveys the urine from the kidney to the bladder is 
like a white, round cord, about the size of a goose quill, prolonged 
from the pouch on the lower surface of the kidney backward beneath 
the loins, then inward, supported by a fold of thin membrane, to 
open into the bladder just in front of its neck. The canal passes first 
through the middle (muscular) coat of the bladder, and then ad- 
vances perceptibly between that and the internal (mucous) coat, 
through which it finally opens. By this arrangement in overfilling 
the bladder this opening is closed like a valve by the pressure of the 
urine, and the return of liquid to the kidney is prevented. The blad- 
der (PL IX, fig. 2) is a dilatable, egg-shaped pouch, closed behind by 
a strong ring of muscular fibers encircling its neck, and enveloped by 
looped, muscular fibers extending on all sides around its body and 
closed anterior end. Stimulated by the presence of urine, these last 
contract and expel contents through the neck into the urethra. 
This last is the tube leading backward along the floor of the pelvic 



116 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

bones and downward through the penis. In the bull this canal of the 
urethra is remarkable for its small caliber and for the S-shaped bend 
which it describes in the space between the thighs and just above 
the scrotum. This bend is attributable to the fact that the retractor 
muscles are attached to the penis at this point, and in withdrawing 
that organ within its sheath they double it upon itself. The small 
size of the canal and this S-shaped bend are serious obstacles to the 
passing of a catheter to draw the urine, yet by extending the penis 
out of its sheath the bend is effaced, and a small, gum-elastic catheter, 
not more than one-fourth of an inch in diameter, may with care be 
passed into the bladder. In the cow the urethra is very short, open- 
ing in the median line on the floor of the vulva about 4 inches in front 
of its external orifice. Even in her, however, the passing of a cathe- 
ter is a matter of no little difficulty, the opening of the urethra being 
very narrow and encircled by the projecting membranous and rigid 
margins, and on each side of the opening is a blind pouch (canal of 
Gartner) into which the catheter will almost invariably find its way. 
In both male and female, therefore, the passing of a catheter is an 
operation which demands special skill. 

General symptoms of urinary disorders. — These are not so promi- 
nent in cattle as in horses, yet they are of a similar kind. There is a 
stiff or straddling gait with the hind limbs and some difficulty in 
turning or in lying down and rising, the act causing a groan. The 
frequent passage of urine in driblets, its continuous escape in drops, 
the sudden arrest of the flow when in full stream, the rhythmic 
contraction of the muscles under the anus without any flow resulting, 
the swelling of the sheath, the collection of hard, gritty masses on 
the hair surrounding the orifice of the sheath, the occurrence of drop- 
sies in the limbs under the chest or belly, or in either of these cavi- 
ties, and finally the appearance of nervous stupor, may indicate 
serious disorder of the urinary organs. The condition of the urine 
passed may likewise lead to suspicion. It may be white, from crystal- 
lized carbonate of lime; brown, red, or even black, from the presence 
of blood or blood-coloring matter ; yellow, from biliary coloring mat- 
ter; frothy, from contained albumin; cloudy, from phosphates; 
glairy, from pus; it may also show gritty masses from gravel. In 
many cases of urinary disorder in the ox, however, the symptoms are 
by no means prominent, and unless special examination is made of 
the loins, the bladder, and the urine the true nature of the malady 
may be overlooked. 

DIURESIS (POLYURIA, DIABETES INSIPIDUS, EXCESSIVE SECRE- 
TION OF URINE). 

A secretion of urine in excess of the normal amount may be looked 
on as disease, even if the result does not lead to immediate loss of 
condition. Cattle fed on distillery swill are striking examples of such 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 117 

excess caused by the enormous consumption of a liquid feed, which 
nourishes and fattens in spite of the diuresis; the condition is un- 
wholesome, and cattle that have passed four or five months in a 
swill stable have fatty livers and kidneys, and never again do well on 
ordinary feed. Diuresis may further occur from increase of blood 
pressure in the kidneys (diseases of the heart or lungs which hinder 
the onward passage of the blood, the eating of digitalis, English 
broom, the contraction of the blood vessels on the surface of the body 
in cold weather, etc.) ; also from acrid or diuretic plants taken with 
the feed (dandelion, burdock, colchicum, digitalis, savin, resinous 
shoots, etc.) ; from excess of sugar in the feed (beets, turnips, ripe 
sorghum) ; also from the use of frozen feed (frosted turnip tops and 
other vegetables), and from the growths of certain molds in fodder 
(musty hay, mow-burnt hay, moldy oats, moldy bread, etc.) . Finally, 
alkaline waters and alkaline incrustations on the soil may be active 
causes. In some of these cases the result is beneficial rather than in- 
jurious, as when cattle affected with gravel in the kidneys are en- 
tirely freed from this condition by a run at grass, or by an exclusive 
diet of roots or swill. In other cases, however, the health and condi- 
tion suffer, and even inflammation of the kidneys may occur. 

Treatment. — The treatment is mainly in the change of diet to a 
more solid aliment destitute of the special, offensive ingredient. 
Boiled flaxseed is often the best diet or addition to the wholesome 
dry food, and, by way of medicine, doses of 2 drams each of sulphate 
of iron and iodid of potassium may be given twice daily. In obsti- 
nate cases 2 drams ergot of rye or of catechu may be added. 

BLOODY URINE (RED WATER, MOOR ILL, WOOD ILL, HEMATURIA, 

HEMAGLOBINURIA). 

This is a common affection among cattle in certain localities, above 
all on damp, undrained lands -and under a backward agriculture. It 
is simply bloody urine or hematuria when the blood is found in clots, 
or when under the microscope the blood globules can be detected as 
distinctly rounded, flattened disks. It is smoky urine — hemaglobinu- 
ria — when neither such distinct clots nor blood disks can be found, but 
merely a general browning, reddening, or blackening of the urine by 
the presence of dissolved, blood-coloring matter. The bloody urine is 
the more direct result of structural disease of the kidneys or urinary 
passages (inflammation, stone, gravel, tumors, hydatids, kidney 
worms, sprains of the loins), while the stained urine (hemaglobinu- 
ria) is usually the result of some general or more distinct disorder in 
which the globules are destroyed in the circulating blood and the 
coloring matter dissolved in and diffused through the whole mass of 
the blood and of the urine secreted from it. As in the two forms, 
blood and the elements of blood escape into the urine, albumin is 



118 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

always present, so that there is albuminuria with blood-coloring mat- 
ter superadded. If from stone or gravel, gritty particles are usually 
passed, and may be detected in the bottom of a dish in which the 
liquid is caught. If from fracture or severe sprain of the loins, it 
is liable to be associated not only with some loss of control of the 
hind limbs and with staggering behind but also with a more or less 
perfect paralysis of the tail. The bloodstained urine without red 
globules results from specific diseases — Texas fever (PI. XL VII, 
fig. 3), anthrax, spirillosis, and from eating irritant plants (broom, 
savin, mercury, hellebore, ranunculus, convolvulus, colchicum, oak 
shoots, ash privet, hazel, hornbeam, and other astringent, acrid, or 
resinous plants, etc.). The Maybug or Spanish fly taken with the 
feed or spread over a great extent of skin as a blister has a similar 
action. Frosted turnips or other roots will bring on the affection in 
some subjects. Among conditions which act by the direct destruc- 
tion of the globules in the circulating blood may be named an excess 
of water in that fluid; the use of water from soils rich in decom- 
posing vegetable matter and containing alkaline salts, particularly 
nitrites ; and the presence in the water and feed of the ptomaines of 
bacteria growth ; hence the prevalence of " red water " in marshy 
districts and on clayey and other impervious soils, and the occurrence 
of bloody urine in the advanced stages of several contagious diseases. 
Some mineral poisons — such as iodin, arsenic, and phosphorus taken 
to excess — may cause hematuria, and finally the symptoms may be 
merely the result of a constitutional predisposition of the individual 
or family to bleeding. In some predisposed subjects, exposure of 
the body to cold or wet w T ill cause the affection. 

The specific symptom of bloody or smoky water is a very patent 
one. It may or may not be associated with fever, with the presence 
or absence of abdominal tenderness on pressure, with a very frothy 
state of the milk or even a reddish tinge, with or without marked 
paleness of the mucous membranes, and general weakness. When 
direct injury to the kidneys is the immediate cause of the disease the 
urine will be passed often, in small quantity at a time, and with much 
straining. When there is bloodlessness (a watery blood) from in- 
sufficient nourishment, fever is absent and the red water is at first 
the only symptom. When the active cause has been irritant plants, 
abdominal tenderness, colics, and other signs of bowel inflammation 
are marked features. 

Treatment. — Treatment varies according as the cause has been a 
direct irritant operating on a subject in vigorous health or a micro- 
bian poison acting on an animal deficient in blood and vigor. In the 
first form of red water a smart purgative (1 pound to \\ pounds 
Glauber's salt) will clear away the irritants from* the bowels and 
allav the coexistent high fever. It will also serve to divert to the 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 119 

bowels much of the irritant products already absorbed into the blood 
and will thus protect the kidneys. In many such cases a liberal sup- 
ply of wholesome, easily digestible feed will be all the additional 
treatment required. In this connection demulcent feed (boiled flax- 
seed, wheat bran) is especially good. If much blood has been lost, 
bitters (gentian, one-half ounce) and iron (sulphate of iron, 2 drams) 
should be given for a week. 

For cases in which excess of diuretic plants has been taken, it may 
be well to replace the salts by 1 to 2 pints of olive oil, adding 1 ounce 
of laudanum and 2 drams of gum camphor; also to apply fomenta- 
tions or a fresh sheepskin over the loins. Buttermilk or vinegar, one- 
half pint, or sulphuric acid, 60 drops in a pint of water, may also be 
used frequently as injections. In cases caused by sprained or frac- 
tured loins, inflamed kidneys, stone or graA T el, the treatment will be 
as for the particular disease in question. 

In hematuria from anemia (watery blood), whether from insuffi- 
cient or badly adjusted rations or from the poisonous products of 
fermentations in impervious or marshy soils, the treatment must be 
essentially tonic and stimulating. Rich, abundant, and easily diges- 
tible feed must be furnished. The different grains (oats, barley, 
wheat, bran, rye) and seeds (rape, linseed, cotton seed) are especially 
called for and may be given either ground or boiled. As a bitter, 
sulphate of quinin, one-half dram, and tincture of chlorid of iron, 2 
drams, may be given in a pint of water thrice a day. In some cases 
1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of oil of turpentine twice daily in milk will act 
favorably. 

In this anemic variety prevention is the great need. The drainage 
and cultivation of the dangerous soils is the main object. Until this 
can be accomplished young and newly purchased cattle not yet inured 
to the poisons must be kept from the dangerous fields and turned on 
only those which are already drained naturally or artificially. Fur- 
ther, they should have an abundant ration in which the local product 
of grass, hay, etc., is supplemented by grain or other seeds. Another 
point to be guarded against is the supply of water that has drained 
from marshes or impervious soils, rich in organic matter, as such 
water is charged with nitrites, ptomaines, etc., which directly conduce 
to the disorder. Fence out from all such waters and supply from 
living springs or deep wells only. 

ALBUMIN IN THE URINE (ALBUMINURIA). 

In bloody urine albumin is always present as an important con- 
stituent of the blood, and in congested and inflamed kidneys it is 
present as a part of the inflammatory exudate. Apart from these, 
albumin in the urine represents in different cases a variety of dis- 
eased conditions of the kidnevs or of distant organs. Among the 



120 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

additional causes of albuminuria may be named: (1) An excess of 
albumin in the blood (after easy calving with little loss of blood and 
before the secretion of milk has been established, or in cases of sud- 
den suppression of the secretion of milk) ; (2) under increase of 
blood pressure (after deep drinking, after doses of digitalis or 
broom, after transfusion of blood from one animal to another, or in 
disease of the heart or lungs causing obstruction to the flow of blood 
from the veins) ; (3) after cutting (or disease) of the motor nerves 
of the vessels going to the kidneys, causing congestion of these 
organs; (4) violent exertion, hence long drives; the same happens 
with violent, muscular spasms, as from strychnia poisoning, lock- 
jaw, epilepsy, and convulsions; (5) in most fevers and extensive in- 
flammations of important organs, like the lungs or liver, the escape 
of the albumin being variously attributed to the high temperature 
of the body and disorder of the nerves, and to resulting congestion 
and disorder of the secreting cells of the kidneys; (6) in burns and 
some other congested states of the skin; (7) under the action of cer- 
tain poisons (strong acids, phosphorous, arsenic, Spanish flies, car- 
bolic acid, and those inducing bloody urine) ; (8) in certain con- 
ditions of weakness or congestion of the secreting cells of the kidneys, 
so that they allow this element of the blood to escape; (9) when the 
feed, is entirely wanting in common salt, albumin may appear in the 
urine temporarily after a full meal containing an excess of albumin. 
It can also be produced experimentally by puncturing the back part 
of the base of the brain (the floor of the fourth ventricle close to 
the point the injury to which causes sugary urine). In abscess, 
tumor, or inflammation of the bladder, ureter, or urethra the urine 
is albuminous. 

It follows, therefore, that albumin in the urine does not indicate 
the existence of any one specific disease, and except when from weak- 
ness or loss of function of the kidney cells, it must be looked on as 
an attendant on another disease, the true nature of which we must 
try to find out. These affections we must exclude one by one until 
we are left to assume the noninflammatory disorder of the secreting 
cells of the kidney. It is especially important to exclude inflamma- 
tion of the kidney, and to do this may require a microscopic exami- 
nation of the sediment of the urine and the demonstration of the 
entire absence of casts of the uriniferous tubes. (See "Nephritis," 
p. 121.) 

To detect albumin in the urine, the suspected and frothy liquid 
must be rendered sour by adding a few drops of nitric acid and then 
boiled in a test tube. If a solid precipitate forms, then a few more 
drops of nitric acid should be added, and if the liquid does not clear 
it up it is albumin. A precipitate thrown down by boiling and re- 
dissolved by nitric acid is probably phosphate of lime. 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 121 

Treatment. — Treatment is usually directed to the disease on which 
it is dependent. In the absence of any other recognizable disease, 
mucilaginous drinks of boiled flaxseed, slippery elm, or gum may be 
given, tannic acid, one-half dram twice daily, and fomentations or 
even mustard poultices over the loins. When the disease is chronic 
and there is no attendant fever (elevation of temperature), tonics 
(hydrochloric acid, 6 drops in a pint of 'water; phosphate of iron, 2 
drams, or sulphate of quinin, 2 drams, repeated twice daily) may 
be used. In all cases the patient should be kept carefully from cold 
and wet, a warm, dry shed, or in warm weather a dry, sunny yard 
or pasture being especially desirable. 

SUGAR IN URINE (DIABETES MELLITUS). 

This is a frequent condition of the urine in parturition fever, but 
as a specific disease, associated with deranged liver or brain, it is 
practically unknown in cattle. As a mere attendant on another dis- 
ease it demands no special notice here. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS (NEPHRITIS). 

This has been divided according as it affects the different parts of 
the kidneys, as: (1) Its fibrous covering (perinephritis) ; (2) the 
secreting tissue of its outer portion (parenchymatous) ; (8) the con- 
nective tissue (interstitial) ; (4) the lining membrane of its ducts 
(catarrhal) ; and (5) its pelvis or sac receiving the urine (pyelitis). 
It has also been distinguished according to the changes that take 
place in the kidney, especially as seen after death, according to the 
quantity of albumin in the urine, and according as the affection is 
acute or chronic. For the purpose of this work it will be convenient 
to consider these as one inflammatory disease, making a distinction 
merelv between the acute and the chronic or of long standing. 

The causes are in the main like those causing bloody urine, such 
as irritant and diuretic plants, Spanish flies applied as a blister or 
otherwise, exposure to cold and wet, the presence of stone or gravel 
in the kidneys, injuries to the back or loins, as by riding one another, 
the drinking of alkaline or selenitious water, the use of putrid, stag- 
nant water, of that containing bacteria and their products, the con- 
sumption of musty fodder, etc. (See " Hematuria," p. 117.) 

The length of the loins in cattle predisposes these parts to mechani- 
cal injury, and in the lean and especially in the thin, working ox the 
kidney is very liable to suffer. In the absence of an abundance 
of loose, connective tissue and of fat, the kidneys lie in close contact 
with the muscles of the loins, and any injury to them may tend to 
stretch the kidney and its vessels, or to cause its inflammation by 
direct extension of the disease from the injured muscle to the adja- 
cent kidney. Thus, under unusually heavy draft, under slips or 



122 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

falls on slippery ground, under sudden unexpected drooping or 
twisting of the loins from missteps or from the feet sinking into 
holes, under the loading and jarring of the loins when animals ride 
one another in cases of " heat," the kidneys are subject to injury and 
inflammation. A hard run, as when chased by a dog, may be the 
occasion of such an attack. A fodder rich in nitrogenous or flesh- 
forming elements (beans, peas, vetches (Vicia sativa), and other 
leguminous plants) has been charged with irritating the kidneys 
through the excess of urea, hippuric acid, and allied products elimi- 
nated through these organs and the tendencjr to the formation of 
gravel. It seems, however, that these feeds are most dangerous when 
partially ripened and yet not fully matured, a stage of growth at 
which they are liable to contain ingredients irritating to the stomach 
and poisonous to the brain, as seen in their inducing so-called " stom- 
ach staggers." Even in the poisoning by the seeds of ripened 
but only partially cured rye grass (Loliurn perenne), and darnel 
(Lolium, te?riulentum) , the kidneys are found violently congested 
with black blood ; also, in the indigestions thai result from the eating 
of partially ripened corn or millet some congestion of the kidneys 
is an attendant phenomenon. 

Cruzel says that the disease as occurring locally is usually not 
alone from the acrid and resinous plants charged with inducing 
hematuria, but also from stinking camomile (Anthemis cotula) and 
field poppy when used in the fresh, succulent condition ; also from the 
great prevalence of dead caterpillars on the pasture, or from dead 
Spanish flies in the stagnant pools of water. The fresh plants are 
believed to be injurious only by reason of a volatile oil which is dis- 
sipated in drying. In the case of the stagnant water it may be ques- 
tioned whether the chemical products of the contained ferments 
(bacteria) are not more frequently the cause of the evil than the 
alleged Spanish flies, though the latter are hurtful enough when 
present. 

Inflammation of the kidneys may further be a form or an exten- 
sion of a specific contagious disease, such as erysipelas, rinderpest, 
septicemia, or even of poisoning by the spores of fungi. Bivolta 
reports the case of a cow with spots of local congestion and blood 
staining in the kidney, the affected parts being loaded with bac- 
teria. Unfortunately he neither cultivated the bacteria nor inocu- 
lated them, and thus the case stands without positive demonstration 
that they were the cause of disease. 

In certain cases the symptoms of nephritis are very manifest, and 
in others so hidden that the existence of the affection can be certainly 
recognized only by a microscopic examination of the urine. In vio- 
lent cases there is high fever, increase of the body temperature to 
103° F. and upward; hurried breathing, with a catching inspiration; 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 123 

accelerated pulse ; dry, hot muzzle ; burning of the roots of the horns 
and ears; loss of appetite; suspended rumination; and indications of 
extreme sensitiveness in the loins. The patient stands with back 
arched and hind legs extended backward and outward, and passes 
water frequently, in driblets, of a high color and specific gravity, con- 
taining albumin and microscopic casts. (PI. XI, fig. 5). When made 
to move, the patient does so with hesitation and groaning, espe- 
cially if turned in a narrow circle; when pinched on the flank just 
beneath the lateral bony processes of the loins, especially on that 
side on which the disease predominates, it flinches and groans. If 
the examination is made with oiled hand introduced through the 
last gut (rectum), the pressure upward on the kidneys gives rise to 
great pain and to efforts to escape by moving away and by active 
contractions of the rectum for the expulsion of the hand. Some- 
times there is a distinct swelling over the loins or quarter on one or 
both sides. In uncastrated males the testicle on the affected side is 
drawn up, or is alternately raised and dropped. In all there is a 
liability to tremors of the thigh on the side affected. 

In some severe cases colicky pains are as violent as in the worst 
forms of indigestion and spasms of the bowels. The animal fre- 
quently shifts from one hind foot to the other, stamps, kicks at the 
belly, frequently looks anxiously at its flank, moans plaintively, lies 
down and quickly gets up again, grinds its teeth, twists its tail, and 
keeps the back habitually arched and rigid and the hind feet ad- 
vanced under the belly. The bowels may be costive and the feces 
glistening with a coat of mucus, or they may be loose and irritable, 
and the paunch or even the bowels may become distended with gas 
(bloating) as the result of indigestion and fermentation. In some 
animals, male and female alike, the rigid, arched condition of the 
back will give way to such undulating movements as are sometimes 
seen in the act of coition. 

The disease does not always appear in its full severity ; for a day. 
or even two, however, there may be merely loss of appetite, impaired 
rumination, a disposition to remain lying down, yet when the patient 
is raised it manifests suffering by anxiously looking at the flanks, 
shifting or stamping of the hind feet, shaking of the tail, and at- 
tempts to urinate, which are either fruitless or lead to the discharge 
of a small quantity of high-colored or perhaps bloody urine. 

In some recent slight cases, and in many chronic ones, these symp- 
toms may be absent or unobserved, and an examination of the urine 
is necessary to reach a safe conclusion. The urine may contain 
blood, or it may be cloudy from contained albumin, which coagulates 
on heating with nitric acid (see "Albuminuria," p. 119) ; it may be 
slightly glairy from pus, or gritty particles may be detected in it. In 
seeking for casts of the uriniferous tubes, a drop may be taken with a 



124 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

fine tube from the bottom of the liquid after standing, and examined 
under a power magnifying: 50 diameters. If the fine, cylindroid fila- 
ments are seen the}^ may then be examined with a power of 200 or 
250 diameters. (PL XI, fig. 5.) The appearance of the casts gives 
some clue to the condition of the kidneys. If made up of large, 
rounded or slightly columnar cells, with a single nucleus in each cell 
(epithelial), they imply comparatively slight and recent disease of 
the kidney tubes, the detachment of the epithelium being like what 
is seen in any inflamed mucous surface. If made up largely of the 
small, disk-shaped and nonnucleated red-blood globules, they imply 
escape of blood, and usually a recent injury or congestion of the 
kidney — it may be from sprains, blows, or the ingestion of acrid or 
diuretic poisons. If the casts are made of a. clear, waxy, homo- 
geneous substance (hyaline), without any admixture of opaque par- 
ticles, they imply an inflammation of longer standing, in which the 
inflamed kidney tubules have been already stripped of their cellular 
(epithelial) lining. If the casts are rendered opaque by the presence 
of minute, spherical granular cells, like white-blood globules, it be- 
tokens active suppuration of the kidney tubes. In other cases the 
casts are rendered opaque by entangled earthy granules (carbonate of 
lime), or crystals of some other urinary salts. In still other cases 
the casts entangle clear, refrangent globules of oil or fat, which may 
imply fatty degeneration of the kidneys or injury to the spinal cord. 
The presence of free pus giving a glairy, flocculent appearance to the 
urine is suggestive of inflammation of the urinary pouch at the com- 
mencement of the excretory duct (pelvis of kidney) (PI. IX, fig. 1), 
especially if complicated with gritty particles of earthy salts. This 
condition is known as pyelitis. In the chronic cases swelling of the 
legs or along the lower surface of chest or abdomen, or within these 
respective cavities, is a common symptom. So, also, stupor or coma, 
or even convulsions, may supervene from the poisonous action of 
urea and other waste or morbid products retained in the blood. 

Treatment. — In the treatment of acute nephritis the first consid- 
eration is the removal of the cause. Acrid or diuretic plants in the 
feed must be removed, and what of this kind is present in the stom- 
ach or bowels may be cleared away by a moderate dose of castor or 
olive oil ; extensive surfaces of inflammation that have been blistered 
by Spanish flies must be washed clean with soapsuds ; sprains of the 
back or loins must be treated by soothing fomentations or poultices 
or by a fresh sheepskin with its fleshy side applied on the loins, and 
the patient must be kept in a narrow stall in which it can not turn 
even its head. The patient must be kept in a warm, dry building, 
so that the skin may be kept active rather than the kidneys. Warm 
blanketing is equally important, or even mustard poultices over the 
loins will be useful. Blisters of Spanish flies, turpentine, or other 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 125 

agent which may be absorbed and irritate the kidneys must be 
avoided. The active, fever may be checked by 15 drops tincture of 
aconite every four hours or by one-third ounce of acetanilid. If pain 
is very acute, 1 ounce of laudanum or 2 drams of solid extract of 
belladonna will serve to relieve. When the severity of the disease has 
passed, a course of tonics (quinin, 2 drams, or gentian powder, 4 
drams, daily) may be given. Diuretics, too, may be given cautiously 
at this advanced stage to relieve dropsy and give tone to the kidneys 
and general system (oil of turpentine, 2 teaspoonfuls ; bicarbonate 
of soda, 1 teaspoonful, repeated twice a day). Pure water is essen- 
tial, and it should not be given chilled ; warm drinks are preferable. 

In the chronic forms of kidney inflammation the same protection 
against cold and similar general treatment are demanded. Tonics, 
however, are important to improve the general health (phosphate of 
iron, 2 drams; powdered mix vomica, 20 grains; powdered gentian 
root, 4 drams, daily). In some instances the mineral acids (nitric 
acid, 60 drops, or nitrohydrochloric acid, 60 drops, daily) may be 
used with the bitters. Mustard applied to the loins in the form of 
a thin pulp made with water and covered for an hour with paper or 
other impervious envelope, or water hotter than the hand can bear, or 
cupping, may be resorted to as a counterirritant. In cupping, shave 
the loins, smear them with lard, then take a narrow-mouthed glass, 
expand the air within by smearing its interior with a few drops of 
alcohol, setting it on fire and instantly pressing the mouth of the 
vessel to the oiled portion of the skin. As the air within the vessel 
cools it contracts, tending to form a partial vacuum, and the skin, 
charged with blood, is strongly drawn up within it. Several of these 
being applied at once, a strong derivation from the affected kidneys 
is obtained. In no case of inflamed or irritable kidney should Span- 
ish flies or oil of turpentine be used upon the skin. 

PARASITES OF THE KIDNEY. 

As the kidney is the usual channel by which the bacteria leave the 
system, this organ is liable to be implicated when microphytes exist 
in the blood, and congestions and blood extravasions are produced. 
In anthrax, southern cattle fever (Texas fever), and other such 
affections bloody urine is the consequence. Of the larger parasites 
attacking the kidney may be specially named the cystic form of the 
echinococcus tapeworm of the dog, the cystic form of the unarmed or 
beef tapeworm of man, the diving bladderworm — the cystic form of 
the marginate tapeworm of the dog, and the giant strongyle — the 
largest of the roundworms. These give rise to general symptoms of 
kidney disease, but the true source of the trouble is likely to be de- 
tected only if the heads or hooklets of the tapeworm or the eggs of 
the roundworm are found on microscopical examination of the urine. 



126 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

TUMORS OF THE KIDNEY (HYPERTROPHY OR ATROPHY). 

The kidney may be the seat of cancerous or simple tumors, and it 
may be unnaturally enlarged or reduced in size, but though there may 
be signs of urinary disorder the true nature of the disease is seldom 
manifest until after death. The passing of blood and of large multi- 
nucleated cells in the urine (to be detected under the microscope) 
may betray the existence of an ulcerated cancer of the kidney. The 
presence of cancerous enlargement of (superficial) lymphatic glands 
may further assist and confirm the decision. 

RETENTION OF URINE. 

Inability to pass urine may come from any one of three condi- 
tions — first, spasm of the neck of the bladder; second, paralysis of 
the body of the bladder; third, obstruction of the channel of outlet 
by a stone (calculus) (see PL XI) or other obstacle. 

In spasm of the neck of the bladder the male animal may stand 
with the tail slightly raised and making rhythmical contractions of 
the muscle beneath the anus (accelerator urinse) (see PL IX, fig. 2), 
but without passing a drop of liquid. In the female the hind legs 
are extended, widely parted, and the back is arched as if to urinate, 
but the effort is vain. If the oiled hand is introduced into the rectum 
or vagina in the early stages of the affection, the bladder may be felt 
beneath partially filled, but not overdistended with liquid, and its 
neck or mouth firm and rigid. In the more advanced stages of the 
affection the organ is felt as a great, tense, elastic bag, extending 
forward into the abdomen. In this condition the overdistended mus- 
cular coat of the bladder has lost its power of contraction, so that 
true paralysis has set in, the muscle closing the mouth of the sac 
alone retaining its contractile power. 

In paralysis of the body of the bladder attention is rarely drawn to 
the urinary disorder until the bladder has been distended to full 
repletion and is almost ready to give way by rupture and to allow 
the escape of the contained liquid into the abdomen. Overdistention 
is the most common cause of the paralysis, yet it may occur from in- 
flammation of the muscular wall of the bladder, or even from injury 
to the terminal part of the spinal marrow. In this last condition, 
however, the tail is liable to be powerless, and the neck of the blad- 
der may also be paralyzed, so that the urine dribbles away continu- 
ously. 

Causes. — Among the causes of spasm of the neck of the bladder 
may be named the lodgment of small stones or gravel, the feeding on 
irritant diuretics (see " Bloody urine," p. 117, or " Nephritis," p. 121), 
the enforced retention of urine while at work or during a painful or 
difficult parturition. The irritation attendant on inflammation of the 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 127 

mucous membrane of the bladder may be a further cause of spasms of 
the neck, as may also be inflammation of the channel (urethra) back 
of the neck. Extensive applications of Spanish flies to the skin, the 
abuse of diuretics, and the occurrence of indigestion and spasms of 
the bowels are further causes. So long as spasmodic colic is unre- 
lieved, retention of water from spasm of the neck of the bladder 
usually persists. 

Treatment. — Treatment depends largely on the cause. In indi- 
gestion the irritant contents of the bowels must be got rid of by 
laxatives and injections of warm water; Spanish-fly blisters must be 
washed from the surface ; a prolonged and too active exertion must 
be intermitted. The spasm may be relaxed by injecting one-half 
ounce of solid extract of belladonna in water into the rectum or by a 
solution of tobacco. Chloroform or ether may be given by inhalation, 
or chloral hydrate (1 ounce) may be given in water by the mouth. 
Fomentations of warm water may be made over the loins and between 
the thighs, and the oiled hand inserted into the rectum may press 
moderately on the anterior part of the bladder, which can be felt as 
an elastic fluctuating bag of an oval shape just beneath. 

All other measures failing, the liquid must be drawn off through a 
tube (catheter). This is, however, exceedingly difficult, alike in male 
and female, and we can not expect an amateur to succeed in accom- 
plishing it. In the cow the opening into the bladder is found in the 
median line of the floor of the generative entrance, about 4 inches in 
front of the external opening, but it is flanked on either side by a 
blind pouch, into which the catheter will pass, in ninety-nine cases 
out of a hundred, in the hands of any but the most skilled operator. 
In the bull or steer the penis, when retracted into its sheath, is bent 
upon itself like the letter S, just above the scrotum and testicles (see 
PL IX, fig. 2), and unless this bend is effaced by extending the organ 
forward out of its sheath it is quite impossible to pass a catheter 
beyond this point. When, however, by the presentation of a female, 
the animal can be tempted to protrude the penis, so that it can be 
seized and extended, or when it can be manipulated forward out of 
the sheath, it becomes possible to pass a catheter of small caliber 
(one-third inch or under) onward into the bladder. Youatt advised 
laying open the sheath so as to reach and extend the penis, and others 
have advocated opening the uretha in the space between the thighs 
or just beneath the anus, but such formidable operations are beyond 
the stock owner. The incision of the narrow uretha through the great 
thickness of muscular and erectile bleeding tissue just beneath the 
anus is especially an operation of extreme delicacy and difficulty. 
Drawing the liquid through the tube of an aspirator is another 
possible resort for the professional man. The delicate needle of the 
aspirator is inserted in such cases through the floor of the vagina and 



128 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

upper wall of the bladder in the female, or through the floor of the 
rectum (last gut) and roof of the bladder in the male, or finally 
through the lower and back part of the abdominal wall, just in front 
of the bones of the pelvis (pubic bones), thence through the lower 
and anterior part of the bladder near its blind anterior end. After 
relief has been obtained the administration of belladonna in 2-dram 
doses daily for several days will tend to prevent a recurrence of the 
retention. 

When the body of the bladder has become benumbed or paralyzed 
by overdistention, we may seek to restore its tone by doses of one- 
half a dram of powdered mix vomica repeated daily, and by mus- 
tard plaster applied over the loins, on the back part of the belly 
inferiorly, or between the thighs. Small doses (2 drams) of balsam 
of copaiba are sometimes useful in imparting tone to the partly 
paralyzed organ. 

INCONTINENCE OF URINE (PALSY OF THE NECK OF THE 

BLADDER). 

This may occur from disease or injury to the posterior part of the 
spinal cord or from broken .back, and in these cases the tail, and per- 
haps the hind limbs, are liable to be paralyzed. In this case the urine 
dribbles away constantly, and the oiled hand in the vagina or rectum 
will feel the half-filled and flaccid bladder beneath and may easily 
empty it by pressure. 

Treatment. — Treatment is only successful when the cause of the 
trouble can be remedied. After these (sprains of the back, etc.) have 
recovered, blisters (mustard) on the loins, the lower part of the 
abdomen, or between the thighs may be resorted to with success. 
Two drams of copaiba or of solid extract of belladonna or 2 grains 
Spanish flies daily may serve to restore the lost tone. These failing, 
the use of electric currents may still prove successful. 

URINARY CALCULI (STONE OR GRAVEL). 

Stone or gravel consists of hard bodies mainly made up of the solid 
earthy constituents of the urine which have crystallized out of that 
liquid at some part of the urinary passage, and have remained as 
small particles (gravel), or have concreted into large masses (stone, 
calculus). (See PI. XI, figs. 1, 2, 3.) In cattle it is no uncommon 
thing to find them distending the practically microscopic tubes in 
the red substance of the kidney, having been deposited from the 
urine in the solid form almost as soon as that liquid has been 
separated from the blood. These stones appear as white objects 
on the red ground formed by cutting sections of the kidney, and 
are essentially products of the dry feed of winter, and are most 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 129 

common in working oxen, which are called upon to exhale more 
water from the lungs and skin than are the slop-fed and inactive 
cows. Little water being introduced into the body with the feed 
and considerable being expelled with the breath and perspiration 
in connection with the active life, the urine becomes small in 
amount, but having to carry out all waste material from the tissues 
and the tissue-forming feed it becomes so charged with solids that 
it is ready to deposit them on the slightest disturbance. If, there- 
fore, a little of the water of such concentrated urine is reabsorbed at 
any point of the urinary passages the remainder is no longer able 
to hold the solids in solution, and they are at once precipitated in 
the solid form as gravel or commencing stone. In cattle, on the 
other hand, which are kept at pasture in summer, or which are fed 
liberally on roots, potatoes, pumpkins, apples, or ensilage in winter, 
this concentrated condition of the urine is not induced, and under 
such circumstances, therefore, the formation of stone is practically 
unknown. Nothing more need be said to show the controlling influ- 
ence of dry feeding in producing gravel and of a watery ration in 
preventing it. Calculus in cattle is essentially a disease of winter 
and of such cattle as are denied succulent feed and are confined to 
dry fodder as their exclusive ration. While there are exceptions, 
they are so rare that they do not invalidate this general rule. It 
is true that stone in the kidney or bladder is often found in the 
summer or in animals feeding at the time on a more or less succu- 
lent ration, yet such masses usually date back to a former period 
when the animals were restricted to a dry ration. 

In this connection is should be noted that a great drain of water 
from the system by any other channel than the kidneys predisposes 
to the production of gravel or stone. In case of profuse diarrhea, 
for example, or of excessive secretion of milk, there is a correspond- 
ing diminution of the water of the blood, and as the whole quan- 
tity of the blood is thus decreased and as the urine secreted is 
largely influenced by the fullness of the blood vessels and the pres- 
sure exerted upon their walls from within, it follows that with this 
decrease of the mass of the blood and the lessening of its pressure 
outward there will be a corresponding decrease of urine. The waste 
of the tissues, however, goes on as before, and if the waste matter is 
passed out through the kidneys it must be in a more concentrated 
solution, and the more concentrated the urine the greater the danger 
that the solids will be deposited as small crystals or calculi. 

Again, the concentrated condition of the urine which predisposes 

to such deposits is favored by the quantity of lime salts that may be 

present in the water drunk by the animal. Water that contains 20 

or 30 grains of carbonate or sulphate of lime to the gallon must con- 

33071°— 16 9 



130 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

tribute a large addition of solids to the blood and urine as compared 
with soft waters from which lime is absent. In this connection it is 
a remarkable fact that stone and gravel in the domesticated herbivora 
are notoriously prevalent on many limestone soils, as on the limestone 
formations of central and western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
and Michigan ; on the calcareous formations of Norfolk, Suffolk, Der- 
byshire, Shropshire, and Gloucestershire, in England; in Landes in 
France, and around Munich in Bavaria. It does not follow that the 
abundance of lime in the water and fodder is the main cause of the 
calculi, as other poisons which are operative in the same districts 
in causing goiter in both man and animal probably contribute to the 
trouble, yet the excess of earthy salts in the drinking water can 
hardly fail to add to the saturation of both blood and urine, and 
thereby to favor the preciptation of the urinary solids from their 
state of solution. 

The known results of feeding cattle a generous or forcing ration 
in which phosphate of lime is present to excess adds additional force 
to the view just advanced. In the writer's experience, the Second 
Duke of Oneida, a magnificent product of his world-famed family, 
died as the result of a too liberal allowance of wheat bran, fed with 
the view of still further improving the bone and general form of 
the Duchess strain of Shorthorns. Lithotomy was performed and 
a number of stones removed from the bladder and urethra, but the 
patient succumbed to an inflammation of the bowels, induced by the 
violent purgatives given before the writer arrived, under the mis- 
taken idea that the straining had been caused by intestinal impac- 
tion. In this case not only the Second Duke of Oneida, but the other 
males of the herd as well, had the tufts of hairs at the outlet of the 
sheath encased in hard, cylindroid sheaths of urinary salts, pre- 
cipitated from the liquid as it ran over them. The tufts were in 
reality resolved into a series of hard, rollerlike bodies, more or less 
constricted at intervals, as if beaded. 

When it is stated that the ash of the whole grain of wheat is but 3 
per cent, while the ash of wheat bran is 7.3 per cent, and that in the 
case of the former 46.38 per cent of the ash is phosphoric acid, and in 
that of the latter 50 per cent, it can easily be understood how a too 
liberal use of wheat bran should prove dangerous if fed dry. The 
following table shows the relative proportion of ash and phosphoric 
acid in wheat bran and in some common farm seeds : 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 131 

Ash and phosphoric acid in bran and some common farm seeds. 



Kind of grain. 



Ash. 



Phosphoric 
acid in ash. 



Phosphoric 
acid in the 
entire feed. 



Whoat bran 

Wheat, grain 

Oats, grain 

Barley, grain 

Bean, grain 

Peas, grain 

Tare, grain 

Indian corn, grain 
Rye, grain 



Per cent. 
7.3 
3 

2.50 
3.10 
3.10 
2.75 
3 

1.5 
1.6 



Per cent. 
50 

46.38 
26.5 
39.6 
31.9 
34.8 
36.2 



Per cent. 

3.65 

1.3914 
.6625 

1. 2276 
.9864 
.957 

1.086 



39. 



Wheat bran, it will be observed, contains three times as much 
phosphoric acid as is found in any of the other grains, and four 
times as much as oats, beans, peas, or rye ; so that if fed in excess it 
will readily overcharge the urine with phosphates. 

There is another point to be considered, however, in estimating 
this danger. "Wheat bran contains a far greater quantity of albu- 
minoids and other nitrogen-containing constituents than the common 
grains (these being made up mainly of starch, which contains no 
nitrogen) ; and, all nitrogen-bearing products contained in the blood 
and tissues being expelled from the body mainly through the kidneys 
in the form of urea and (in cattle) hippuric acid, it follows that the 
excess of urea formed when such feed is consumed must load the 
urine with solids and bring it constantly nearer to the point of satu- 
ration, when such solids (or the least soluble of them) must be 
deposited. 

The following table will show the relative amounts of the nitrogen- 
bearing products in wheat bran and some of our common grains : 

Nitrogenous matter in wheat bran and some common farm grains. 



Kind of grain. 



Wheat bran . 
Wheat, grain 
Barley, grain 
Oats, grain . . 
Rye, grain . . . 
Indian corn . 



Albumi- 
noids (ni- 
troge- 
nous). 



Per cent. 
16.1 
12.5 
12.4 
11.8 
10.6 
10.1 



Woody fiber 
(nitroge- 
nous.) 



Per cent. 



1.8 
2.7 
9.5 
1.7 
1.7 



Total nitrog- 
enous-bear- 
ing constit- 
uents. 



Per cent. 

24.1 
14.3 
15.1 
21.3 
12.3 
11.8 



It will be observed that, with the exception of oats, none of the 
grains contain more than two-thirds of the nitrogenous material 



132 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

present in the wheat bran, while in the case of rye and maize there is 
practically but one-half. Even in the case of oats the albuminoids, 
which are the more digestible principles, and therefore those that 
are the most easily and speedily converted into urea, are present only 
to the amount of two-thirds of that which exists in the wheat bran. 
With such an excess of ash, of phosphates, and of nitrogenous (urea- 
forming) constituents in wheat bran, its tendency to favor the forma- 
tion of calculi is fully explained. It must not, however, be inferred 
that wheat bran is not a valuable feedstuff. The inference is only 
that it should be fed with an abundance of water, as a sloppy mash, 
or in combination with an abundance of roots, potatoes, pumpkins, 
or other succulent aliment. 

In this connection the presence of magnesia in the feed or water 
must be named as favoring calculous formations in the urinary pas- 
sages. The explanation is that while the phosphate of magnesia 
thrown out in the urine is soluble in water, the compound phosphate 
of ammonia and magnesia is insoluble, and, accordingly, if at any 
time ammonia is introduced into urine containing the phosphate of 
magnesia there is instantly formed the ammonio-magnesium phos- 
phate, which is as promptly deposited in the solid form. The com- 
mon source of ammonia in such cases is from decomposition of the 
urea in fermenting urine. In order to produce this a ferment is nec- 
essary, however, and therefore, as an additional prerequisite, the 
presence of bacteria, or fungi, in the urine is essential. These fer- 
ments may make their way from without along the urinary passage 
(urethra) , and their propagation in the bladder is greatly favored by 
the prolonged retention of urine, as in case of spasm of the neck of 
the bladder or obstruction by an already existing stone. Another 
mode of entrance of the ferment is an unclean catheter used to draw 
the urine. Still another is the elimination through the kidneys of 
the bacteria of infectious diseases, or of such as, without producing 
a general infection, yet determine fermentation in the urine. The 
precipitation is favored not only by the production of ammonia, but 
also by the formation of viscid (colloid) products of fermentation. 
In this sense bacteria are most important factors in causing gritty 
deposits in the urine. 

Another insoluble salt which enters largely into the composition of 
many urinary calculi of the ox is carbonate of lime. This is derived 
mainly from the lime in the feed and water and from the carbon 
dioxid formed by the oxidation of the .organic acids in the fodder. 
These organic acids, being composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen 
(without nitrogen), are resolved by the addition of oxygen into 
carbon dioxid (C0 2 ) and water (H,0). The carbon dioxid unites 
with the lime in the blood to form carbonate of lime, and in this 
state passes into the urine. Now, carbonate of lime is soluble in 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 



133 



water containing free or uncombined carbon dioxid,but is precipitated 
whenever the latter is withdrawn. It is only necessary, therefore, 
to have in the urine sufficient lime or other available base to unite 
with all the free carbon dioxid in order to bring about the precipi- 
tation of the dissolved carbonate of lime in the solid, crystallized 
form; hence it is that, of all sediments in the urine of herbivora, 
this is the most frequent and usually the most abundant. 

A less common constituent of urinary calculi is the insoluble oxalate 
of lime. In this case the lime is derived as before from the feed or 
water, or both, while the oxalic acid is a product of the oxidation of 
organic acids of the feed, less oxygen having been used than in the 
formation of carbon dioxid. The final product of the complete 
oxidation of these acids is carbon dioxid, but when less oxygen is 
furnished, owing to some disease of the lungs or a disease of the nerve 
centers, which lessens the activity of the breathing, then oxalic acid 
may be produced. If this oxalic acid comes into contact with lime, 
it is instantly precipitated as crystals of oxalate of lime. 

Another inorganic substance at times found in urinary calculi is 
silica (Si0 2 ). This contributes largely to giving stiffness to the 
stems of growing plants, and in most of our cereals and grasses makes 
up a large proportion of the ashes of the burned plant. It is found in 
the soluble form in combination as silicate of potash, but at times is 
displaced by oxalic or other acid and then appears as gritty, sandy 
particles in the stem. This gritty, insoluble silica is especially notice- 
able among the horsetails (E ' quisetcececv) , bamboos, and sedges. The 
per cent of silica in the ash of several common fodder plants is given 
below : 

Silica in ash of various fodder plants. 



Ash of — 



Silica. 



Ash of- 



Silica. 



Wheat straw. . 
Oats and husk 

Oat straw 

Barley straw.. 
Rye straw 



Per cent. 
67.6 
38.6 
35.4 
73.1 
64.4 



Rye-grass hay 
Wheat chaff.. 

Oat chaff 

Barley awn. ., 



Per cent. 
64.57 
81.2 
59.9 

70.7 



It is only soluble silica that is taken up into the system, and it 
is in this form (usually as silicate of potash or soda) that it enters 
the urine, but all that is wanted to precipitate it in crystalline form 
as a gritty sand is the presence of oxalic or other acid having a 
stronger affinity for its base (potash or soda). 

Other conditions, however, enter largely into the causation of 
stone, or gravel. A high density of urine resulting from a highly 
saturated condition is often present for a length of time without 



134 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

any precipitation of solid materials. Urea and carbonates may be 
present in excess, the feed may be given dry, and drinking water 
may be deficient in quantity without any deposition of stone or 
gravel. In such cases, the presence of noncrystalline organic matter 
in the urine becomes an exciting cause. Rainey and Ord have 
shown experimentally that colloid (noncrystallizable) bodies like 
mucus, epithelial cells, albumin, pus, blood, hyaline casts of the 
kidney tubes, etc., not only determine the precipitation of crystal- 
lizable salts from a strong solution, but they determine the precipi- 
tation in the form of globular masses, or minute spheres, which, 
by further similar accessions, become stones, or calculi, of various 
sizes. The salts that are deposited by mere chemical reaction with- 
out the intervention of colloids appear in the form of sharply defined 
angular crystals, and hence the rough, jagged crystals of oxalate of 
lime or ammonia-magnesium phosphate. Heat intensifies the action 
of the colloids in causing precipitation of the dissolved salts, so that 
the temperature of the kidneys and bladder constitute favorable 
conditions. Colloids that are undergoing decomposition are also 
specially powerful, so that the presence of bacteria or fungi causing 
fermentation is an important factor. 

In looking, therefore, for the immediate causes of urinary calculi 
we must accord a high "place to all those conditions which determine 
the presence of excess of mucus, albumin, pus, blood, kidney casts, 
blood-coloring matter, etc., in the urine. A catarrhal inflammation 
of the pelvis of the kidney, of the ureter, or of the bladder, generat- 
ing excess of mucus or pus; inflammation of the kidneys, causing 
the discharge of blood, albumin, or hyaline casts into the urinary 
passages; inflammation of the liver, lungs, or other distant organ, 
resulting in the escape of albumin in the urine; disorders of the 
liver or of the blood-forming functions, resulting in hematuria or 
hemoglobinuria; sprains or other injuries to the back, or disease 
of the spinal marrow, which cause the escape of blood with the 
urine; the presence in the bladder of a bacterial ferment, which 
determines the decomposition of the mucus and urea, the evolution 
of ammonia and the consequent destruction of the protecting cel- 
lular (epithelia) lining of the bladder, or the irritation caused by 
the presence of an already formed calculus, may produce the colloid 
or uncrystallizable body that proves so effective in the precipitation 
of stone or gravel. It has long been known that calculi almost in- 
variably form around any foreign body introduced into the kidney 
or bladder, and I have seen a large, calculous mass surrounding a 
splinter of an arrow that had penetrated and broken off in the body 
of a deer. The explanation is now satisfactory — the foreign body 
carries in with it bacteria, which act as ferments upon the urine 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 135 

and mucus in addition to the mechanical injury caused by its pres- 
ence. If such a body has been introduced through the solid tissues, 
there is, in addition, the presence of the blood and lymph derived 
from the wounded structures. 

CLASSIFICATION OF URINARY CALCULI. 

Urinary calculi are most conveniently divided according to the 
locality in which they are found. Thus we find first renal calculi, 
formed in the kidney (PL XI, fig. 1), and which for cattle must be 
again divided into calculi of the uriniferous tubes and calculi of the 
pelvis. The second class are named ureteral calculi because they are 
found in the duct leading from the kidney to the bladder (ureter). 
The third class are the vesical calculi, from the bladder or vesicle in 
which they are found. The fourth class are the urethral calculi, and 
are found in the duct leading outward from the bladder through 
the penis (urethra). The fifth and last class are the preputial cal- 
culi, since they are found within the sheath of the penis (prepuce). 

Calculi may also be classed according to their chemical composition 
and this has the advantage of suggesting the special cause of each as 
found in the feed, water, soil, or general conditions of health. This 
classification affords no guide to their location or symptoms, as cal- 
culi of the same chemical composition may be formed at any part of 
the urinary passages, as those formed in the kidney may pass on 
through all the various passages outward, unless it is found at any 
point of their progress that they have grown so large that the passage 
will not admit them. The following are among the concretions found 
in the various parts : 

(1) Coralline calculi. — These are of a dull-white color and irregu- 
lar surface, like coral. They are made up of hard and resistant lay- 
ers evenly deposited around a central nucleus. (PI. XI, fig. 3.) 
Their specific gravity is 1,760, water being 1,000, and they contain 
74 per cent of carbonate of lime with some carbonate of magnesia, 
organic matter, and a trace of carbonate of iron. Yellowish-white, 
smooth, round calculi of the same chemical composition are met with. 

(2) Pearly calculi. — These are more frequent than the first-named 
variety. They are very hard and smooth on the surface, reflecting a 
play of various colors after the fashion of a pearl. This peculiarity 
appears to be caused by the thinness and semitransparency of the 
supposed layers. They have a specific gravity of 2,109 to 2,351, and 
nearly the same chemical composition as the coralline variety. Gold- 
ing Bird found a specimen of this kind formed of carbonate of lime 
and organic matter only. 

(3) Green calculi {metalloid calculi). — These are usually small and 
numerous, as they are exceedingly common. They are of a very hard 



136 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

consistency, and have a clear-polished, greenish surface of almost 
metallic brilliancy. They have a specific gravity of 2.301 and a com- 
position almost identical with the second variety. 

(4) White calculi. — Pure white, smooth, lustrous calculi are rare. 
They have a specific gravity of 2.307, and contain as much as 92 per 
cent of carbonate of lime with carbonate of magnesia and organic 
matter. 

(5) Ammonio-magnesium calculi. — These are of a grayish color 
and a very rough, crystalline surface, which proves very irritating to 
the mucous membrane. They have a specific gravity of 1.109 to 
1.637, and are composed chiefly of ammonio-magnesium phosphate, 
oxalate of lime, and organic matter, with a little carbonate of lime 
and magnesia. 

(6) Siliceous calculi. — These are clear, smooth, and hard, and usu- 
ally spherical. They have a specific gravity of 1.265 to 1.376, and 
contain 57 per cent of silica with carbonates of iron and magnesia, 
organic matter, and traces of iron. In other specimens of siliceous 
calculi there was a specific gravity of 3.122, and there was 79 to 85 
per cent of carbonate of lime together with carbonate of magnesia, 
and iron, silica, and organic matter. Others are almost exclusively 
made of silica. 

(7) Oxalate of lime calculi {mulberry calculi) (PI. XI, fig. 2). — 
These are characterized by their extremely rough, angular surface, 
formed by the octahedral crystals of oxalate of lime. Their specific 
gravity may be 3.441, and they contain oxalate of lime to the extent of 
81 per cent, together with carbonates of lime and magnesia and 
organic matter. 

(8) Gravel (pultaceous deposits). — Simple crystals may be met 
with at any point from the kidneys to the external opening at the 
end of the prepuce (sheath), and they may appear singly, as crys- 
tals, or they may accumulate in masses of fine spherical crystals 
almost like dirty powdered chalk suspended in water. In the ox 
this is especially common as a collection in the sheath, distending 
that into a soft, doughy swelling. 

FORMS OF CALCULI IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. 

Apart from the rough crystalline surfaces of the calculi of oxalate 
of lime and ammonio-magnesium phosphate, the general tendency is 
to a smooth, round outline. At times, however, they show more or 
less flattening with rounded angular edges, caused by the contact 
and mutual friction of two calculi. Sometimes two or more stones 
lying together become united into one by a new external deposit, 
and the resulting mass then shows rounded swellings on opposite 
sides. The large calculi occupying the pelvis of the kidneys usually 
show a central part having the outline of the main cavity of the 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 137 

pelvis and two or more projections that have been molded into the 
corresponding branches or channels which lead to corresponding 
lobes of the kidney. In winter and spring small concretions in the 
form of plates are often met with in the branches of the pelvis, hav- 
ing been formed and molded in the confined space between the pro- 
jecting papilla and the surrounding cuplike branch of the pelvis. 
Finally, the pulplike deposits in the sheath and elsewhere are made 
up of globular masses, individually so small as to be often practically 
microscopic. 

STONE IN THE KIDNEY (RENAL CALCULI). 

[PI. XI, fig. 1.] 

In an animal leading the quiet, uneventful life of the ox, stones of 
large size may be present in the kidney without producing any dis- 
order appreciable to the people about him. In cattle fattened on dry 
feed in winter, on the magnesian limestone of New York, it is excep- 
tional to find the substance of the kidney free from calculi about the 
size of a grain of wheat or less, and standing out as white objects in 
the general red of the cut surface of the organ. Similarly around 
the papilla? in the cuplike arms of the pelvis we find minute, flat- 
tened or more or less rounded, yellowish-white concretions. Even 
the large concretions may prove apparently harmless. I have a 
calculus several ounces in weight which filled the entire pelvis of the 
kidney, that was found by accident in a fat carcass while being 
dressed. In work oxen, however, such concretions may give rise to 
symptoms of kidney disease, such as stiffness of the loins, shown 
especially in the acts of rising or turning, weakness of the hind parts 
when set to pull a heavy load, an irritability of the kidneys, shown 
by the frequent passage of urine in small quantity, tenderness of the 
loins, shown when they are pinched or lightly struck, and it may be 
the passage of blood or minute gritty masses with the urine. If the 
attack is severe, what is called "renal colic" (kidney colic) may be 
shown by frequent uneasy shifting of the hind limbs, shaking or 
twisting of the tail, looking around at the flanks, and lying down and 
rising again at short intervals without apparent cause. The fre- 
quent passage of urine, the blood or gritty masses contained in it, 
and perhaps the hard, stony cylinders around the tufts of hair of the 
sheath, show that the source of the suffering is the urinary organs. 
In bad cases active inflammation of the kidneys may set in. (See 
" Nephritis," p. 121.) 

URETERAL CALCULI. 

These are small stones which have passed from the pelvis of the 
tidney into the canal (ureter) leading from the kidney to the blad- 
der, but, being too large to pass on easily, have blocked that canal and 



138 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

forced the urine back upon the kidney. The result is the production 
of symptoms more violent than in renal calculi, though not varying, 
save in intensity, from those of renal colic. In case of complete and 
unrelieved obstruction, the secretion of the kidney on that side is 
entirely abolished, and it becomes the seat of passive congestion, and 
it may even be absorbed in greater part or as a whole, leaving only a 
fibrous sac containing fluid with a urinous odor. In small cattle, in 
which the oiled hand introduced into the last gut may reach the 
affected part, the distended ureter may be felt as a tense, elastic cord, 
extending forward from the point of obstruction on the lateral wall 
of the pelvis and beneath the loins toward the kidney. If relief is 
obtained by the onward passage of the stone a free flow of urine 
usually follows, in the midst of which may often be found gritty 
masses. If the outlets from both kidneys are similarly blocked the 
animal becomes poisoned by the retention in the blood of the elements 
of the urine, and by their reabsorption after secretion. 

Treatment of renal and ureteral calculi. — Treatment is not very 
successful, as only the smallest calculi can pass through the ureter 
and enter the bladder, and even if they should do so they are liable to 
a progressive increase there, so that later they may cause the symp- 
toms of stone in the bladder. Fortunately, ordinary dairy, growing, 
or fattening cattle rarely show evident symptoms of illness, and even 
though they do so they can usually be fattened and slaughtered before 
the health is seriously impaired. In work oxen the case is different, 
and acute symptoms may develop, but even then the animal may often 
be fitted for the butcher. When treatment is demanded it is pri- 
marily soothing and antispasmodic. Fomentations with warm water 
over the loins should be persisted in without intermission until relief 
has been secured. The soothing effect on the kidney will often relieve 
inflammation and irritation, should the stone be in that situation, 
while if in the ureter the warm fomentations will at once soothe irri- 
tation, relax spasm of the muscular coat of the canal, and favor an 
abundant secretion from the kidney, which, pressing on the obstruct- 
ing stone, may slowly push it on into the bladder. Large doses of 
laudanum (2 ounces) or of solid extract of belladonna (2 drams) will 
not only soothe the pain but relax the spasm and favor the onward 
passage of the calculus. The animal should be encouraged to drink 
large quantities of cool water to favor the free secretion of a very 
watery urine, which will not only serve to obviate irritation and con- 
tinued deposit caused by a highly concentrated urine, but will press 
the stone onward toward the bladder, and even in certain cases will 
tend to disintegrate it by solution of some of its elements, and thus 
to favor its crumbling and expulsion. This is a principle which must 
never be lost sight of in the treatment of calculi. The immersion of 
the stone in a liquid of a lower specific gravity than that in which it 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 139 

has formed and grown tends to dissolve out the more soluble of its 
component parts, and thus to destroy its density and cohesion at all 
points, and thereby to favor its complete disintegration and expul- 
sion. This explains why cattle taken from a herd on magnesian 
limestone in spring, after the long, dry feeding of winter, usually 
have renal calculi, while cattle from the same herd in the fall, after 
a summer's run on a succulent pasture, are almost always free from 
concretions. The abundance of liquid taken in the green feed and ex- 
pelled through the kidneys and the low density or watery nature of 
the urine have so opened the texture and destroyed the density of 
the smaller stones and gravel that they have all been disintegrated 
and removed. This, too, is the main reason why benefit is derived 
from a prolonged stay at mineral springs by the human victims of 
gravel. If they had swallowed the same number of quarts of pure 
water at home and distributed it at suitable times each day, they 
would have benefited largely without a visit to the springs. 

It follows from what has been just said that a succulent diet, in- 
cluding a large quantity of water (gruels, sloppy mashes, turnips, 
beets, potatoes, apples, pumpkins, ensilage, succulent grasses), is an 
important factor in the relief of the milder forms of stone and gravel. 

Prevention. — Prevention of calculus especially demands this sup- 
ply of water and watery rations on all soils and in all conditions in 
which there is a predisposition to the disease. It must also be sought 
by attempts to obviate all those conditions mentioned above as causa- 
tive of the malady. Sometimes good rain water canine furnished in 
limestone districts, but putrid or bad-smelling rain water is to be 
avoided as probably more injurious than that from the limestone. 
Unsuccessful attempts have been made to dissolve calculi by alkaline 
salts and mineral acids, respectively, but their failure as a remedy 
does not necessarily condemn them as preventives. One dram of 
caustic potash or of hydrochloric acid may be given daily in the 
drinking water. In diametrically opposite ways these attack and 
decompose the less soluble salts and form new ones which are more 
soluble and therefore little disposed to precipitate in the solid form. 
Both are beneficial as increasing the secretion of urine. In cases in 
which the diet has been too highly charged with phosphates (wheat 
bran, etc.), these aliments must be restricted and water allowed ad 
libitum. If the crystals passed with the urine are the sharp an- 
gular (octahedral) ones of oxalate of lime, then the breathing 
should be made more active by exercise, and any disease of the lungs 
subjected to appropriate treatment. If the crystals are triangular 
prisms of ammonia-magnesium phosphate or starlike forms with 
feathery rays, the indications are to withhold the feed or water that 
abounds in magnesia and check the fermentation in the urine by 
attempts to destroy its bacteria. In the latter direction plenty of 



140 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

pure-water diuretics, and a daily dose of oil of turpentine in milk, or 
a dose thrice a day of a solution containing one-tenth grain each of 
biniodid of mercury and iodid of potassium would be indicated. 

In considering the subject of prevention, it must never be forgotten 
that any disease of a distant organ which determines the passage 
from the blood into the urine of albumin or any other colloid (un- 
crystallizable) body is strongly provocative of calculus, and should, 
if possible, be corrected. Apart from cases from geological forma- 
tion, faulty feeding, and other causes, the grand preventive of cal- 
culus is a long, summer's pasturage of succulent grasses, or in winter 
a diet of ensilage or other succulent feed. 

The calculi formed in part of silica demand special notice. This 
agent is secreted in the urine in the form of silicate of potash and is 
thrown down as insoluble silica when a stronger acid displaces it by 
combining with the potash to its exclusion. In cases of siliceous 
calculi, accordingly, the appropriate chemical prevention is caustic 
potash, which being present in the free state would attract to itself 
any free acid and leave the silica in its soluble condition as silicate of 
potash. 

STONE IN THE BLADDER (VESICAL CALCULUS, OR URETHRAL CALCULUS). 

Stone in the bladder may be of any size, but in the ox does not 
usually exceed half an inch in diameter. There may, however, be a 
number of small calculi; indeed, they are sometimes so small and 
numerous as to form a small, pulpy magma, by which the bladder is 
considerably distended. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of stone in the bladder may be absent 
until one of the masses escapes into the urethra, but when this occurs 
the escape of urine is prevented, or it is allowed to pass in drops or 
driblets only, and the effect of such obstruction becomes manifest. 
The point of obstruction is not always the same, but it is most fre- 
quently at the S-shaped curve of the penis, just above the testicles or 
scrotum. In cows and heifers the urethra is so short and becomes so 
widely dilated during the urination that the calculi easily escape in 
the flow of liquid and dangerous symptoms practically never appear. 

Even in the male the signs of illness are at first very slight. A 
close observer may notice the cylinders of hard, earthy materials 
encircling the tufts of hair at the opening of the prepuce. It may 
further be observed that the stall remains dry and that the animal 
has not been seen to pass water when out of doors. The tail may at 
times be gently raised and contractions of the muscle (accelerator 
urina?) beneath the anus (PL IX, fig. 2) may take place in a rhyth- 
mical or pulsating manner. As a rule, however, no symptom is no- 
ticed for two days, only the animal is lacking in his usual spirits. By 
this time the constantly accumulating urine has distended the blad- 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 141 

der beyond its power of resistance and a rupture occurs, allowing the 
urine to escape into the cavity of the abdomen. Then dullness in- 
creases; the animal lies down most of his time; he becomes stupid and 
sometimes drowsy, with reddish-brown congestion of the lining mem- 
brane of the eyelids; pressure on the abdomen causes pain, flinching, 
and perhaps groaning, and the lowest part of the belly fluctuates more 
and more as the escaping urine accumulates in greater and greater 
amount. If at this stage the oiled hand is introduced into the rectum 
(last gut), the animal flinches when pressure is made downward on 
the floor of the pelvis, and no round, distended bladder is felt. If 
the same examination is made prior to the rupture, the rounded, 
tense, elastic bladder is felt extending forward into the abdomen, 
containing one or two gallons of liquid. There may be uneasy shift- 
ing of the hind limbs and twisting of the tail, also frequent lying 
down and rising, but these symptoms are exceptional. 

When the obstruction is low down between the thighs (at the S- 
shaped flexure), the line of the pulsating urethra from the anus 
downward may be felt distended with liquid, and though, by the 
hard swelling of the urethra, it is seldom easy to distinguish the exact 
seat of the stone, yet there is usually tenderness at the point of ob- 
struction, and from this it may be accurately located. 

Treatment. — The treatment of stone in the bladder or urethra con- 
sists in the removal of the stone by incision and the use of forceps. 
(PI. XI, fig. 4.) When the stone has been arrested at the S-shaped 
flexure just above the scrotum, the patient being lean, the thickened 
tender part of the penis may be seized between the fingers and thumb 
of the left hand, while the calculus is exposed by a free incision with 
the knife held in the right. If there is no other obstruction between 
this point and the bladder, and if the latter has not yet ruptured, a 
flow of urine should take place from the opening. If there is no 
escape of liquid, a catheter or sound, one-fourth of an inch in diame- 
ter, must be passed up through the canal (urethra) until it is arrested 
by the next stone, on which a similar incision should then be made 
to effect its extraction. In case the stone has been arrested in the por- 
tion of the urethra which is in front of the arch of the hip bone and 
inside the pelvis, it can be reached only by making an opening into 
the urethra beneath the anus and over the arch of the hip bone, and 
from this orifice exploring the urethra with fine forceps to the neck 
of the bladder or until the stone has been reached and extracted. 
Owing to the small size of the canal (urethra) to be opened and the 
great thickness of erectile tissue to be cut through, the operation re- 
quires a very accurate knowledge of the parts, while the free flow of 
blood is blinding to the operator. A staff should always be passed up 
through the urethra from the lower wound, if such has been made, or, 
in case of its absence, through the whole length of the penis, that 



142 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

organ having been drawn out of its sheath until the S-shaped curve 
has been effaced and the course of the canal rendered straight. Upon 
the end of this staff the incision can be made with far more confi- 
dence and certainty. The operation can be undertaken only by a 
skilled veterinary anatomist, but the hints given above may be valu- 
able in showing the stock owner when he is being properly served in 
such a case. 

In outlying districts, where no skilled operator can be had, a trans- 
verse incision may be made with a clean, sharp knife through the root 
of the penis, just over the arch of the hip bone, when the urine will 
flow out in a full stream. The attendant bleeding may be ignored, or 
if profuse it may be checked by packing the wound firmly with cotton 
wool for several hours. The urine will continue to escape by the 
wound, and the ox should be fattened for the butcher. 

The immediate relief is not to be looked upon as a permanent cure, 
as the calculi in the affected ox are usually numerous, and later attacks 
are therefore to be looked for. Hence it is desirable to fatten and 
kill such cases after a successful operation. If a breeding animal is 
too valuable to be killed, he should be subjected to preventive meas- 
ures, as laid down under " Stone in the kidney," page 137. 

It should be added that when the bladder is filled with a soft 
magma a catheter may be introduced through the whole length of the 
urethra to be used in pumping water into the bladder. This water 
is extracted through the same channel when it has been charged with 
the suspended solids by manipulations of the bladder with the oiled 
hand introduced through the rectum. 

CALCULI, OR GRAVEL, IN THE PREPUCE, OR SHEATH. 

This is usually a collection of gravel, or a soft, puttylike materia] 
which causes distinct swelling of the sheath and gives it a soft, 
doughy feeling when handled. It may be removed in part by the 
oiled fingers introduced into the cavity, assisted by manipulation 
from without, or a tube may be inserted until the end extends behind 
the collection and water pumped in until the whole mass has been 
evacuated. Should even this fail of success, the sheath may be slit 
open from its orifice back in the median line below until the offending 
matter can be reached and removed. In all such cases the interior 
of the sheath should be finally lubricated with sweet oil or vaseline. 
It is unnecessary to stitch up the wound made in the sheath. (See 
"Inflammation of the sheath," p. 153.) 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate IX. 




Kidney and Male Generative and Urinary Organs. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate X. 






Microscopic Anatomy of the Kidney. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XI. 








Calculi of Kidney and Bladder. 



DISEASES OF THE URINARY ORGANS. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate IX. Kidney and male generative and urinary organs. 

Fig. 1. Kidney of the ox. (From Handbuch des Vergleichenden Anatomie 
des Haus Saugethiere, vol. 7, 1890.) A, renal artery carrying blood 
into the kidney ; V, renal vein carrying blood from the kidney back to 
the heart ; H, ureter, the tube carrying the urine from kidney to 
bladder. It is formed by the union of a number of branches which 
begin as cups (calices), each inclosing the tip of a conical mass of 
tissue from which the urine excludes. 

Fig. 2. Genital and urinary organs of the bull. (From Leisering, Mueller, 
and Ellenberger, Handbuch des Verg. Anat. des Haus Saugethiere.) 
the serous membrane enveloping the testicles; 3, the right testicle, 
outer view; 3', left testicle, inner view; 4, epididymis, or the beginning 
of the excretory canal of the testicle ; 4', globus major, or the head of 
the epididymis; 4", globus minor, or the tail of the epididymis; 5, 
vas deferens, the duct through which the seminal fluid reaches the 
ejaculatory ducts; 5', pelvic dilation of the vas deferens; 6, vesic- 
ula seminalis. The vesiculae seminalis are two oval pouches, which, 
in addition to their own secretions, receive the semen conveyed by 
the seminal ducts and hold it in reserve until copulation ; 7, mem- 
branous or intrapelvic portion of the urethral canal covered by Wil- 
son's muscle ; 8, part of the prostate gland, covered by Wilson's 
muscle; 9, Cowper's gland. This gland, like the prostate gland, 
secretes a fluid which is thrown into the urethal canal in abundance 
immediately before ejaculation ; by this means the expulsion of the 
semen is facilitated ; 10, ejaculator seminis, or accelerator urinse 
muscle; 11, penis; 11', cut portion of same; 12, cut suspensory liga- 
ments of penis ; 13, sheath, or prepuce laid open ; 14, retractor muscles 
of sheath ; 15, cremaster muscle cut at superior extremity ; 16, dupli- 
cature of peritoneum ; 17, ureters carrying urine from the kidneys 
to the bladder. 
Plate X. Microscopic anatomy of the kidney. 

Fig. 1. In this figure the minute apparatus for the secretion, collection, 
and discharge of the urine into the pelvis of the kidney (see preced- 
ing plate) is shown. The course is as follows : The urine is secreted 
from the blood vessels in the little round bodies called glomeruli (12), 
and by the minute cells in the curved tubes (11, 9, 10, 8), and passes 
through the convoluted and straight tubes (7, 6) into the larger tube 
(1), and then out into the pelvis, thence through the ureters into the 
bladder. The fluid and salts dissolved in the urine are taken from 
the blood, and the minute blood vessels are therefore very abundant 
in the kidneys, as is shown by the branches and network on the left 
of the figure. The blood passes into the kidney in the artery (13), 
which then divides into branches which pass into the glomeruli (12) and 
also forms network around the secreting tubules (11, 9). The urine 

143 



144 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Plate X. Microscopic anatomy of the kidney — Continued. 

and salts pass from these vessels through the cells lining the tubules 

into the latter, and are discharged as described above. The blood is 

again collected in veins drawn black in the figure. 
Fig. 2 illustrates the manner in which the blood is distributed in the 

glomerulus (/), and also to the secreting tubules (e). 
Fig. 3 shows the relation between the blood vessel in the glomerulus (e) 

the tubule which conducts the urine therein secreted from the blood 

vessel; (c) represents a glomerulus from which the urinary tubule 

has been removed. 
Plate XI. Calculi of kidney and bladder. 

Fig. 1. Calculus, or stone, from the kidney. These are in the pelvis or 

portion of the ureter receiving the urine. The prolongations are casts 

of the branches of the pelvis. See the plates of the kidney for further 

description. 
Fig. 2. Calculus made up of oxalate of lime magnified 215 times. 
Fig. 3. Phosphatic calculus containing a nucleus of uric acid, sawed through 

to show concentric layers. 
Fig. 4. Straight forceps used in removing stones from the bladder. 
Fig. 5. Casts of the minute tubules of the kidney found in the urine in 

various kinds of kidney disease. Highly magnified. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 

By James Law, F. It. C. V. S„ 

Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University. 

[Revised by Adolph Eichhorx, D. V. S.] 

GENERAL DISCUSSION. 

Diseases of the generative organs are practically confined to ani- 
mals which are kept for reproduction and the dairy. The castration 
of the bull condemns these organs to inactivity and protects them 
from the many causes of injury attendant on the engorged blood 
vessels in the frequent periods of sexual excitement, on the exposure 
to mechanical violence, and on the exposure to infective inoculation. 
In three respects the castrated male is especially subject to disease: 
(1) To inflammation and tumefaction of the cut end of the cord that 
supported the testicle and of the loose connective tissue of the scro- 
tum; (2) to inflammation of the sheath and penis from the accumu- 
lation of gravel in the former, from which the penis is not usually 
protruded in passing water; and (3) to bruising, abrasion, and 
inflammation of the sheath and penis during suspension in the stocks 
for the purpose of shoeing. Apart from these the ox is practically 
almost exempt from the inflammations and injuries of the genital 
organs. The same applies to the castrated heifer. Inflammation 
may occur in the broad ligament of the womb whence the ovary has 
been removed or infective inflammation in the abdominal cavity 
(peritonitis) in case the operation has been performed through the 
flank, as it usually is in the young heifer. Apart from these, the cas- 
trated heifer is practically immune from any trouble of the genera- 
tive apparatus. Even the virgin heifer is little subject to such 
troubles, though she is not exempt from inflammations, and above all, 
from morbid growths in the ovaries which are well developed and 
functionally very active after the first year, or in precocious animals 
after the first few months of life. The breeding cow, on the other 
hand, is subjected to all the disturbances attendant on the gradual en- 
largement of the womb, the diversion of a large mass of blood to its 
walls, the constant drain of nutrient materials of all kinds for the 
nourishment of the fetus, the risks attendant and consequent on abor- 
tion and parturition, the dangers of infection from the bull, the risks 
of sympathetic disturbance in case of serious diseases of other organs, 
33071°— 16 10 145 



146 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

but preeminently of the urinary organs and the udder, and finally 
the sudden extreme derangements of the circulation and of the nerv- 
ous functions which attend on the sudden revulsion of a great mass 
of blood from the walls of the contracting womb into the body at 
large immediately after calving. 

In reviewing this class of diseases, therefore, we have to note, first, 
that they are almost exclusively restricted to breeding animals, and 
secondly that in keeping with the absolute difference of the organs 
in the male and female we find two essentially distinct lists of dis- 
eases affecting the two sexes. 

EXCESS OF VENEREAL DESIRE (SATYRIASIS IN MALE, OR NYM- 
PHOMANIA IN FEMALE). 

This may occur in the male from too frequent sexual intercourse, 
or from injury and congestion of the base of the brain (vasodilator 
center in the medulla), or of the posterior end of the spinal cord, or 
it may be kept up by congestion or inflammation of the testicles or of 
the mucous membrane covering the penis. It may be manifested by 
a constant or frequent erection, by attempts at sexual connection, 
and sometimes by the discharge of semen without connection. In 
bad cases the feverishness and restlessness lead to loss of flesh, 
emaciation, and physical weakness. 

It is, however, in the female especially that this morbid desire is 
most noticeable and injurious. It may be excited by the stimulating 
quality of the blood in cows fed to excess on highly nitrogenous feed, 
as the seeds of the bean, pea, vetch, and tare, and as wheat bran, 
middlings, cotton seed, gluten meal, etc., especially in the case of 
such as have no free exercise in the fields, and are subject to constant 
association with a vigorous young bull. A more frequent cause is the 
excitation or congestion of some part of the genital organs. Disease 
of the ovaries is preeminently the cause, and this may be by the for- 
mation of cysts (sacs containing liquid) or of solid tumors or de- 
generations, or, more commonly than all, the formation of tubercle. 
Indeed, in case of tuberculosis attacking the abdominal organs of 
cows, the ovaries or the serous membranes that support and cover 
them (the broad ligaments of the womb) are peculiarly subject to 
attack, and the animal has constant sexual excitement, incessantly" 
riding or being ridden by other cattle, having no leisure to eat or 
chew the cud, but moving restlessly, wearing the flesh off its bones, 
and gradually wasting. In some localities these cows are known as 
" bullers," because they are nearly always disposed to take the bull, 
but they do not conceive, or, if they do, they are subject to early 
abortions. They are, therefore, useless alike for the dairy and for 
the feeder, unless the removal of the ovaries subdues the sexual ex- 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 147 

citement, when, in the absence of tuberculous disease elsewhere, they 
may be fattened for the butcher. 

Among the other sources of irritation charged with causing nym- 
phomania are tumors and cancers of the womb, rigid closure of the 
neck of the womb so that conception can not occur and the frequent 
services by the male which stimulate, the unsatisfied appetite, inflam- 
mation, and a purulent discharge from the womb or vagina. 

Treatment. — The treatment in each case will vary with the cause 
and is most satisfactory when that cause is a removable one. Over- 
feeding on richly nitrogenous feed can be stopped, exercise in the 
open field given, diseased ovaries may be removed (see " Castra- 
tion," p. 297), catarrhs of the womb and passages overcome by anti- 
septic, astringent injections (see Leucorrhea,"' p. 222), and tumors 
of the womb may often be detached and extracted, the mouth of that 
organ having been first dilated by sponge tents or otherwise. The 
rubber dilator (impregnator), sometimes helpful in the mare, is 
rarely available for the cow, owing to the different condition of the 
mouth of the womb. 

DIMINUTION OR LOSS OF VENEREAL DESIRE (ANAPHRODISIA). 

This occurs in either sex from low condition and ill health. Long- 
standing, chronic diseases of important internal organs, leading to 
emaciation and weakness, or a prolonged semistarvation in winter 
may be sufficient cause. It is, however, much more common as the 
result of degeneration or extensive and destructive disease of the 
secreting organs (testicles, ovaries) which elaborate the male and 
female sexual products, respectively. Such diseases are, therefore, a 
common cause of sterility in both sexes. The old bull, fat and lazy, 
becomes sluggish and unreliable in serving, and finally gets to be use- 
less for breeding purposes. This is not attributable to his weight and 
clumsiness alone, but largely to the fatty degeneration of his testicles 
and their excretory ducts, which prevents the due formation and 
maturation of the semen. If he has been kept in extra high condi- 
tion for exhibition in the show ring, this disqualification comes upon 
him sooner and becomes more irremediable. 

Similarly the overfed, inactive cow, and above all the show cow, 
fails to come in heat at the usual times, shows little disposition to 
take the bull, and fails to conceive when served. Her trouble is the 
same in kind, namely, fatty degeneration of the ovaries and of their 
excretory ducts (Fallopian tubes), which prevents the formation or 
maturation of the ovum or, when it has formed, hinders its passage 
into the womb. Another common defect in such old, fat cows is a 
rigid closure of the mouth of the womb, which prevents conception, 
even if the ovum reaches the interior of that organ and even if the 
semen is discharged into the vagina. 



148 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Preventive. — The true preventive of such conditions is to be found 
in a sound hygiene. The breeding animal should be of adult age, 
neither overfed nor underfed, but well fed and moderately exercised ; 
in other words, the most vigorous health should be sought, not only 
that a strong race may be propagated, but that the whole herd, or 
nearly so, may breed with certainty. Fleming gives 79 per cent as 
the general average of cows that are found to breed in one year. 
Here more than a fifth of the progeny is sacrificed and a fifth of the 
product of the dairy. With careful management the proportion of 
breeders should approach 100 per cent. The various local and gen- 
eral obstacles to conception should be carefully investigated and 
removed. The vigorous health which comes from a sufficiently lib- 
eral diet and abundant exercise should be solicited, and the compara- 
tive bloodlessness and weakness which advance with undue fattening 
should be sedulously avoided. In bull or cow which is becoming 
unduly fat and showing indications of sexual indifference, the treat- 
ment must be active. Turning out on a short pasture where it must 
work hard for a living will often suffice. The bull which can not be 
turned out to pasture may sometimes be utilized in the yoke or tread 
power, or he may be kept a part of his time in a field or paddock 
chained by the ring in his nose to a strong wire extending from one 
side of the lot to the other and attached securely to two trees or 
posts. The wire should be higher than the back of the bull, which 
will move frequently from end to end. If he is indisposed to take 
sufficient exercise in this way he may be safely driven. An instance 
of the value of the exercise in these incipient cases of fatty degenera- 
tion is often quoted. The cow Dodona, condemned as barren at 
Earl Spencers', was sold cheap to Jonas Webb, who had her driven 
by a road a distance of 120 miles to his farm at Wilbraham, soon after 
which she became pregnant. In advanced cases, however, in which 
the fatty degeneration is complete, recovery is impossible. 

In case of rigid closure of the mouth of the womb the only resort is 
dilatation. This is far more difficult and uncertain in the cow than 
in the mare. The neck of the womb is longer, is often tortuous in its 
course, and its walls so approximated to each other and so rigid that 
it may be all but impossible to follow it, and there is always danger 
of perforating its walls and opening into the cavity of the abdomen, 
or, short of that, of causing inflammation and a new, rigid, fibrous 
formation which on healing leaves matters worse than before. The 
opening must be carefully made with the finger, and when that has 
entered the womb further dilatation may be effected by inserting a 
sponge tent or by careful stretching with a mechanical dilator. 
(PI. XX, fig. 6.) 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. ■ 149 

STERILITY FROM OTHER CAUSES. 

The questions as to whether a bull is a sure stock getter and 
whether a cow is a breeder are so important that it would be wrong 
to pass over other prominent causes of sterility. Breeding at too 
early an age is a common source of increasing weakness of consti- 
tution which has existed in certain breeds. Jerseys have especially 
been made the victims of this mistake, the object being to establish 
the highest milking powers in the smallest obtainable body which 
will demand the least material and outlay for its constant repair of 
Avaste. With success in this line there has been the counterbalancing 
disadvantage of impaired vigor, with too often lessened fertility as 
well as increased predisposition to disease. When the heifers of the 
race have for generation after generation been bred under a year old, 
the demand for the nourishment of the fetus is too great a drain on 
the immature animal, which accordingly remains small and stunted. 
As it fails to develop in size, so every organ fails to be nourished to 
perfection. Similarly with the immature bull put to too many cows ; 
he fails to develop his full size, vigor, or stamina, and transfers his 
acquired weakness to his progeny. An increasing number of barren 
females and an increasing proclivity to abortions are the necessary 
results of both courses. When this early breeding has occurred acci- 
dentally it is well to dry up the dam just after calving, and to avoid 
having her served again until full grown. 

Some highly fed and plethoric females seem to escape conception 
by the very intensity of the generative ardor. The frequent passage 
of urine, accompanied by contractions of the womb and vagina and 
a profuse secretion from their surfaces, leads to the expulsion of the 
semen after it has been lodged in the genitial passages. This may be 
remedied somewhat by bleedin'g the cow shortly before putting to 
the bull, so as to diminish the richness and stimulating quality of 
the blood ; or better, by giving 1^ pounds of Epsom salt a day or two 
before she conies in heat, and subjecting her at the same time to a 
spare diet. Should the excessive ardor of the cow not be controllable 
in this way, she may be shut up for a day or two, until the heat is 
passing off, when under the lessened excitement the semen is more 
likely to be retained. 

The various diseases of the ovaries, their tubes, the womb, the 
testicles and their excretory ducts, as referred to under " Excess of 
venereal desire," are causes of barrenness. In this connection it 
may be said that the discharges consequent on calving are fatal to 
the vitality of semen introduced before these have ceased to flow; 
hence service too soon after calving, or that of a cow which has 
had the womb or genital passages injured so as to keep up a muco- 
purulent flow until the animal comes in heat, is liable to fail of 



150 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

conception. Any such discharge should be first arrested by repeated 
injections as for leucorrhea, after which the male may be admitted. 

Feeding on a very saccharine diet, which greatly favors the deposi- 
tion of fat, seems to have an even more direct effect in preventing 
conception during such regimen. Among other causes of barrenness 
are all those that favor abortion, ergoted grasses, smutty wheat or 
corn, laxative or diuretic drinking water, and any improper or 
musty feed that causes indigestions, colics, and diseases of the urinary 
organs, notably gravel; also savin, rue, cantharides, and all other 
irritants of the bowels or kidneys. 

Hermaphrodites are barren, of course, as their sexual organs are 
not distinctively either male or female. The heifer born as a twin 
with a bull is usually hermaphrodite and barren, but the animals 
of either sex in which development of the organs is arrested before 
they are fully matured remain as in the male or female prior to 
puberty, and are barren. Bulls with both testicles retained within 
the abdomen may go through the form of serving a cow, but the 
service is unfruitful ; the spermatozoa are not fully elaborated. So 
I have examined a heifer with a properly formed but very small 
womb and an extremely narrow vagina and vulva, the walls of which 
were very muscular, that could never be made to conceive. A post- 
mortem examination would probably have disclosed an imperfectly 
formed ovary incapable of bringing ova to maturity. 

*A bull and cow that have been too closely inbred in the same line 
for generations may prove sexually incompatible and unable to gen- 
erate together, though both are abundantly prolific when coupled with 
animals of other strains. 

Finally, a bull may prove unable to get stock, not from any lack of 
sexual development, but from disease of other organs (back, loins, 
hind limbs), which renders him unable to mount with the energy 
requisite to the perfect service. 

CONGESTION AND INFLAMMATION OF THE TESTICLES (ORCHITIS). 

This usually results from blows or other direct injuries, but may 
be the result of excessive service or of the formation of some new 
growth (tumor) in the gland tissue. The bull moves stiffly, with strad- 
dling gait, and the right or left half of the scrotum in which the 
affected testicle lies is swollen, red, and tender, and the gland is drawn 
up within the sac and dropped again at frequent intervals. It may 
be treated by rest; by 1^ pounds Epsom salt given in 4 quarts of 
water; by a restricted diet of some succulent feed; by continued 
fomentations with warm water by means of sponges or rags sustained 
by a sling passed around the loins and back between the hind legs. 
The pain may be allayed by smearing with a solution of opium or of 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 151 

extract of belladonna. Should a soft point appear, indicating the 
formation of matter, it may be opened with a sharp lancet and the 
wound treated daily with a solution of a teaspoonful of carbolic acid 
in a half pint of water. Usually, however, when the inflammation 
has proceeded to this extent, the gland will be ruined for purposes 
of procreation and must be cut out. (See " Castration," p. 297.) 

INFLAMMATION OF THE SHEATH. 

While this may occur in bulls from infection during copulation and 
from bruises, blows, and other mechanical injuries, the condition is 
more common in the ox in connection with the comparative inactivity 
of the parts. The sheath has a very small external opening, the 
mucous membrane of which is studded with sebaceous glands secret- 
ing a thick, unctuous matter of a strong, heavy odor. Behind this 
orifice is a distinct pouch, in which this unctuous matter is liable to 
accumulate when the penis is habitually drawn back. Moreover, the 
sheath has two muscles (protractors) which lengthen it, passing into 
it from the region of the navel, and two (retractors) that shorten it, 
passing into it from the lower surface of the pelvic bones above. 
(PI. IX, fig. 2.) The protractors keep the sheath stretched, so that 
it habitually covers the penis, while the retractors shorten it up in 
the act of service, so that the penis can project to its full extent. In 
stud bulls the frequent protrusion of the erect and enlarged penis 
and the retraction and dilation of the opening of the sheath serve to 
empty the pouch and prevent any accumulation of sebaceous matter 
or urine. In the ox, on the other hand, the undeveloped and inactive 
penis is usually drawn back so as to leave the anterior preputial 
pouch empty, so that the sebaceous matter has space to accumulate 
and is never expelled by the active retraction of the sheath and 
protrusion of the erect penis in service. Again, the ox rarely pro- 
trudes the tip of the penis in urination, the urine is discharged into 
the preputial pouch and lodges and decomposes there, so that there 
is a great liability to the precipitation of its earthy salts in the form 
of gravel. The decomposing ammoniacal urine, the gritty crystals 
precipitated from it, and the fetid, rancid, sebaceous matter set up 
inflammation in the delicate mucous membrane lining the passage. 
The membrane is thickened, reddened, rendered friable, and ulti- 
mately ulcerated, and the now narrowed sheath is blocked by the 
increasing mass of sebaceous and urinous material and the decom- 
posing mucus and pus. The penis can no longer be protruded, the 
urine escapes in a small stream through the narrowing sheath, and 
finally the outlet is completely blocked and the urine distends the 
back part of the sheath. This will fluctuate on being handled, and 
soon the unhealthy inflammation extends on each side of it, causing 



152 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

a thick, doughy, tender swelling under the belly and between the 
thighs. The next step in the morbid course is overdistention of the 
bladder, with the occurrence of colicky pains, looking at the flanks, 
uneasy movements of the hind limbs, raising or twisting of the tail, 
pulsatory contractions of the urethra under the anus, and finally a 
false appearance of relief, which is caused by rupture of the bladder. 
Before rupture takes place the distended bladder may press on the 
rectum and obstruct the passage of the bowel dejections. Two mis- 
takes are therefore probable — first, that the bowels alone are to 
be relieved, and, second, that the trouble is obstruction of the urethra 
by a stone. Hence the need of examining the sheath and pushing 
the finger into its opening to see that there is no obstruction there, 
in all cases of retention of urine, overdistended bladder, or blocked 
rectum in the ox. The disease may be acute or chronic — the first by 
reason of acute, adhesive inflammation blocking the outlet, the second 
by gradual thickening and ulceration of the sheath and blocking by 
the sebaceous and calculous accretion. 

Treatment. — The treatment of this affection depends on the stage. 
If recent and no instant danger of rupture of the bladder, the 
narrow opening of the sheath should be freely cut open in the median 
line below, and the sac emptied out with a finger or spoon, after 
which it should be thoroughly washed with tepid water. To make 
the cleansing more thorough a catheter or a small, rubber tube may 
be inserted w r ell back into the sheath, and water may be forced 
through it from a syringe or a funnel inserted into the other end of 
the tube and considerably elevated. A fountain syringe, which 
should be in every house, answers admirably. The sheath may be 
daily washed out with tepid water, with a suds made with Castile 
soap, or with a weak solution of sulphate of zinc (one-half dram to 
a quart of water). If these attentions are impossible, most cases, 
after cleansing, will do well if merely driven through clean water up 
to the belly once a day. 

In case the disease has progressed to absolute obstruction, with the 
bladder ready to rupture any moment, no time must be lost in open- 
ing into the urethra with a sharp knife over the bony arch under the 
anus, where the pulsations are seen in urinating. This incision is 
best made in the median line from above downward, but in the 
absence of a skillful operator a transverse incision with a sharp knife 
over the bone in the median line until the urine flows with a gush is 
better than to let the patient die. Considerable blood will be lost 
and the wound will heal tardily, but the ox will be preserved. Then 
the slitting and cleansing of the sheath can be done at leisure, as 
described above. If the bladder is ruptured, the case is hopeless. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 153 

INFLAMMATION OF THE SHEATH AND PENIS FROM BRUISING. 

This also is an affection of work oxen, caused by the pressure and 
friction of the sling when the animals are held in stocks for shoe- 
ing. This crushing of both sheath and penis for half an hour or more 
leads to the development, some hours later, of a hard, hot, and pain- 
ful swelling, extending from the scrotum as far as the opening of the 
sheath. Fever sets in, with dry muzzle, red eyes, hard, full, rapid 
pulse, accelerated breathing, and elevated temperature. The ox 
stands obstinately with his hind legs drawn apart and urine falling 
drop by drop from the sheath. Appetite and rumination are sus- 
pended. In twenty-four hours there may be indications of advancing 
gangrene (mortification), the swelling becomes cold, soft, and 
doughy ; it may even crack slightly from the presence of gas ; a red- 
dish brown, fetid liquid oozes from the swelling, especially around the 
edges, and if the animal survives it is only with a great loss of sub- 
stance of the sheath and penis. 

Prevention. — The prevention of such an injury is easy. It is only 
necessary to see that the slings do not press upon the posterior part 
of the abdomen. They must be kept in front of the sheath. 

Treatment. — Treatment, to be effective, must be prompt and judi- 
cious. Put around the patient a strap with soft pads in contact with 
the affected parts, constantly soaked in cold water for at least 24 
hours. A pound or two of Epsom salt in 4 quarts of hot water 
should also be given. The second day the parts may be washed with 
1 quart of witch-hazel (extract), 2 drams sugar of lead, and 1 ounce 
laudanum, or the cold-water irrigations may be continued if the ac- 
tive inflammation persists. In case the swelling continues hard and 
resistant, it may be pricked at the most prominent points to the depth 
of one-third of an inch with a lancet first dipped in dilute carbolic 
acid, and the whole surface should be washed frequently with chlorin 
water or other antiseptic. 

When softening occurs in the center of a hard mass and fluctuation 
can be felt between two fingers pressed on different parts of such soft- 
ening, it should be freely opened to let out the putrid pus, and the 
cavity should be syringed often with chlorin water. 

In bad cases extensive sloughs of dead skin, of the whole wall of 
the sheath, and even of the penis, may take place, which will require 
careful antiseptic treatment. The soaking of the urine into the in- 
flamed and softened tissue and the setting up of putrefactive action 
not only endanger great destruction of the tissues from putrid in- 
flammation, but even threaten life itself from a general blood poison- 
ing (septicemia). Every case should have skillful treatment to meet 
its various phases, but in the severe ones this is most urgently de- 
manded. 



154 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE URETHRA (GONORRHEA). 

Like other males, the bull sometimes suffers from inflammation of 
the canal which conveys the urine through the penis, and a whitish 
mucopurulent discharge forms in consequence. It may have origi- 
nated in gravel, the excitement of too frequent service, infection 
from a cow with leucorrhea, or from extension of inflammation from 
the sheath. Besides the oozing of the whitish liquid from the end of 
the penis and sheath, there is tenderness and pain when handled, 
and while there is no actual arrest of the urine, its flow is subject to 
frequent voluntary checks, as the scalding liquid irritates the tender 
surface. 

Treatment. — If recognized before the discharge sets in, a dose of 1^ 
pounds of Epsom salts and local, warm fomentations would be appro- 
priate. After the onset of the whitish discharge a daily injection 
of a solution of 20 grains of permanganate of potassium in a pint of 
water into the penis will be beneficial. 

WARTS AND PAPILLARY GROWTHS ON THE PENIS. 

These are not frequent in bull or ox. They may interfere with the 
protrusion of the organ from its sheath or with service, and always 
give rise to a bad-smelling discharge. 

Treatment. — They may be twisted off with a pair of small tweezers 
or cut off with a pair of scissors, and the seat burned with a pencil 
of lunar caustic. To get hold of the penis in the bull, bring him up 
to a cow. In the ox it will be necessary to push it out by manipula- 
tion through the sheath. In difficult cases the narrow opening of 
the sheath may be slit open. 

WOUNDS OF THE PENIS. 

The most common wounds are those sustained by blows of horns, 

! sticks, etc. The blood vessels and sacs are ruptured to a greater or 

less extent and considerable swellings filled with coagulated blood 

and inflammatory products occur, leading to distortion of the organ, 

and it may be to the impossibility of protruding it. 

Treatment. — A lotion of a dram of alum in a quart or water may 
be applied (injected into the sheath, if necessary), and a large 
sponge constantly irrigated by a stream of cold water may be kept 
applied by means of a surcingle to the outer side of the sheath. 
Incisions are rarely applicable to an organ of this kind, but in case 
of the existence of an extensive clot which is unlikely to be ab- 
sorbed the lancet may be resorted to. If the injury leads to paralysis 
of the penis and hanging out of its sheath, it should be supported 
in a sling and astringents used freely until inflammation subsides. 
Then the restoration of power may be sought by a blister between 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 155 

the thighs, by the use of electricity, or by the careful use of nerve 
stimulants, such as strychnia, 1 grain twice daily. 

ULCERS ON THE PENIS. 

Sores on the penis of the bull may result from gravel or sebaceous 
masses in the sheath or from having served a cow having leucorrhea. 

Treatment. — These may be treated by frequent injections into the 
sheath of a lotion made with 1 dram sugar of lead, 60 drops carbolic 
acid, and 1 quart water. 

POLYPUS OF THE VAGINA OR UTERUS. 

A polypus is a tumor growing from the mucous membrane, and 
often connected to it by a narrow neck. A definite cause can not 
always be assigned. If growing in the vagina, a polypus may 
project as a reddish, rounded tumor from the vulva, especially dur- 
ing the act of passing water. It can be distinguished from descent 
of the womb by the absence of the orifice of that cavity, which can 
be felt by the oiled hand beyond the tumor in the depth of the 
vagina. From a vaginal hernia caused by the protrusion of some 
abdominal organ enveloped by the relaxed wall of the vagina it 
may be distinguished by its persistence, its firm substance, and the 
impossibility of returning it into the abdomen by pressure. A her- 
nia containing a portion of bowel gurgles when handled and can 
be completely effaced by pressure, the gut passing into the abdomen. 

A polypus in the womb is less easily recognized. At the time of 
calving it may be felt through the open mouth of the womb and 
recognized by the educated touch (it must be carefully distinguished 
from the mushroom-formed cotyledons (PL XIII, fig. 2), to which 
in ruminants the fetal membranes are attached). At other times, 
unless the womb is opened in the effort to expel it, the polypus can 
be detected only by examining the womb with the oiled hand intro- 
duced through the rectum. 

Polypi may cause a mucopurulent discharge or they may only be 
suspected when they prove an obstacle to parturition. The best way 
to remove them is to put the chain of an eraseur around the neck, 
or pedicle, of the tumor and tear it through; or the narrow neck 
may be torn through by the emasculator, or in an emergency it 
may be twisted through by rotating the tumor on its axis. The 
removal of the tumor will allow calving to proceed; after this the 
sore may be treated by a daily injection of one-half dram sulphate 
of zinc, 1 dram carbolic acid, and 1 quart milk-warm water. 

SIGNS OF PREGNANCY. 

If a cow remains for three or four weeks after service without 
showing signs of heat (bulling), she is probably pregnant. There 



156 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

are very exceptional cases in which the well-fed cow will accept the 
bull weeks or months after actual conception, and others equally 
exceptional in which the well-thriven but unimpregnated female will 
refuse the male persistently, but these in no way invalidate the gen- 
eral rule. 

The bull, no matter how vigorous or how ardent his sexual instinct, 
can not be made to pay any attention to a cow which is not in heat; 
hence indications of pregnancy can be had from both the male and 
female side. When she has conceived, the cow usually becomes more 
quiet and docile, and lays on flesh and fat more rapidly, especially 
during the first four months of gestation. The stimulus to digestion 
and nutrition created by the demands of the growing fetus, added to 
the quieter and more uneventful life, contributes to this result. Some 
feeders avail themselves of this disposition to prepare heifers and 
cows speedily for the butcher. 

The enlargement of the abdomen, and its dropping so that it bulges 
below and to each side, while it falls in at the flank, between the outer 
angle of the hip bone and the last rib, are significant features which, 
though they may be caused by abdominal tumor or dropsy, are 
usually marks of pregnancy. From the same increasing weight of 
the abdomen the spine in the region of the loins sinks so that the 
bones of the croup seem to rise, especially back toward the root of 
the tail. In the early stages of pregnancy the udder develops slowly, 
and toward its completion quite rapidly. For a long time there is 
merely a sense of greater fullness when handled ; the wrinkles in the 
skin become shallower and are effaced, and the teats are materially 
enlarged. Beginning a few weeks after conception, this tends to a 
steady development, though slight alternations in the sense of suc- 
cessive growth and shrinkage are not uncommon. In milking cows 
this does not hold, as the milk usually tends to a steady diminution 
and the udder shrinks slowly until near the completion of the period, 
when it undergoes its sudden, remarkable development, and yields at 
first a serous liquid and then the yellow colostrum, which coagulates 
when heated. As pregnancy advances the mucous membrane lining 
the vulva becomes swollen and of a darker, bluish-red hue; the 
mucous secretion also increases, becoming very abundant just before 
calving. When the feeding has not been altered or restricted, a steady 
diminution of the salts of lime excreted in the urine is an attendant 
on pregnancy, the lime being demanded for the growing body of the 
fetus. 

After the fifth month the movements of the calf may often be 
observed in the right flank, nearly in front of the stifle, when the cow 
is drinking cold water. The sensation of cold on the side of the first 
stomach, which lies to the left and directly below the womb (PI. I), 
stimulates the calf to active movements, which are detected on the 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 157 

sudden jerking outward of the abdominal wall as if from blows 
delivered from within. In a loose, pendent abdomen in the latter 
months of gestation the skin may often be seen pushed out at a 
sharp angle, irrespective of the period of drinking. 

Another mode of examination through the flank is by touch. The 
palm of the hand is pressed strongly inward, about 8 inches in front 
of the stifle and a little below, several times in succession, and is then 
brought to rest with the pressure maintained. Presently there are 
felt distinct and characteristic movements of the fetus, which has 
been disturbed and roused to action. Another mode is to press the 
closed fist strongly inward in the same situation and hold it so, form- 
ing a deep indentation in the abdominal wall. Presently the knuckles 
are felt to be struck by a solid body, which is no other than the fetus 
that has been displaced to the left by the push of the hand, and now 
floats back in its liquid covering (amniotic fluid; see PI. XII) down- 
ward and to the right. 

Of all the modes of examination by touch, that done through the 
rectum gives the earliest satisfactory indications. The hand and 
arm, well oiled, are introduced, and the excrement having been 
removed if necessary, the palm of the hand is turned downward and 
the floor of the pelvis carefully examined. There will be felt in the 
median line the pear-shaped outline of the bladder, more or less full, 
rounded or tense, according to the quantity of urine it contains. 
Between this and the hand will be felt a soft, somewhat rounded 
tubular body, which divides in front into two smaller tubes or 
branches, extending to the right and left into the abdomen. This 
is the womb, which in its virgin, or unimpregnated, condition is of 
nearly uniform size from before backward, the main part or- body 
being from H to 2 inches across, and the two anterior branches or 
horns being individually little over an inch wide. Immediately after 
conception the body and one of the horns begin to enlarge, the vacant 
horn remaining disproportionately small, and the enlargement will 
be most marked at one point, where a solid, rounded mass indicates 
the presence of the growing embryo. In case of twins, both horns 
are enlarged. At a more advanced stage, when the embiyo begins 
to assume the form of the future animal, the rounded form gives 
place to a more or less irregular nodular mass, while later still the 
head, limbs, and body of the fetus may be distinctly made out. The 
chief source of fallacy is found in the very pendent abdomen of cer- 
tain cows, into which in advanced gestation the fetus has dropped 
so low that it can not be felt by the hand in the rectum. The absence 
of the distinct outline of the vacant womb, however, and the clear 
indications obtained on external examination through the right flank 
will serve to prevent any mistake. The fetus may still be felt through 



158 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the rectum if the abdomen is raised by a sheet passed from side to 
side beneath it. 

Still another sign is the beating of the fetal heart, which may be 
heard in the latter half of pregnancy when the ear is pressed on the 
flank in front of the right stifle or from that downward to the udder. 
The beats, which are best heard in the absence of rumbling, are 
about 120 a minute and easily distinguished from any bowel sounds 
by their perfect regularity. 

DURATION OF PREGNANCY. 

From extended statistics it is found that the average duration of 
pregnancy in the cow is 285 days. A calf born at the two hundred 
and fortieth day may live, and Dietrichs reported a case of a calf 
born on the three hundred and thirty-fifth day, and another was 
reported by the American Journal of Medical Science as having been 
born on the three hundred and thirty-sixth day. It is the general 
observation that in most cases of prolonged pregnancies the offspring 
are males. Lord Spencer found a preponderance of males between 
the two hundred and ninetieth and the three hundredth days, but 
strangely enough all born after the three hundredth day under his 
observation were females. It may be reasonably inferred that while 
the prevailing tendency is to carry the males overtime, yet that the 
smaller and comparatively much less developed female sometimes 
fails to stimulate the womb to contraction until very far beyond the 
regular date. 

HYGIENE OF THE PREGNANT COW. 

Among domestic animals considerations of hygiene must be made 
subservient to profit, and therefore the first consideration is not to 
obtain the most robust health, but such a measure of vigor and 
stamina as is compatible with the most profitable utilization of the 
animal. The breeding cow must carry a calf every year, and this 
notwithstanding that she is at the same time suckling another large, 
growing calf. The dairy cow must breed every year, and at the same 
time must furnish a generous flow of milk from nine to eleven 
months yearly. If her health is lowered thereby or her life short- 
ened, the question of profit must still hold sway, and, when dis- 
qualified, she must yield her place to another. There are exceptions, 
of course, but this rule generally holds. 

There are certain points, however, in which the interests of hygiene 
may be considered. The pregnant cow should have exercise, and as 
regards both exercise and feed, nothing is better than a run on a 
smooth pasture. She should be withheld from all violent excitement, 
hunting with dogs, riding or being ridden by cows in heat, driving in 



DISEASES OP THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 159 

herd rapidly through narrow gateways, causing to jump ditches or 
fences, subjecting to blows with the horns of pugnacious cattle, driv- 
ing on icy or otherwise slippery ground, carrying in railroad cars, 
kicking by vicious attendants, and fastening or throwing down for 
operations. The diet should be good, not of a land to fatten, but with 
a generous quantity of nitrogenous constituents which will favor 
both the yield of milk and the nourishment of the fetus. Aliments 
like wheat bran, middlings, etc., which are rich in lime and phos- 
phates, can be used to advantage, as there is a constant drain of 
earthy salts for the building of the body of the calf, and thereby 
the danger of undue concentration of the urine is lessened. Hard, 
innutritious, and indigestible aliments, musty grain or hay, par- 
tially ripened rye grass, millet, Hungarian grass, vetches, peas, 
or maize are objectionable, as they are liable to cause indiges- 
tion or even paralysis ; and corn or hay affected by smut or ergot, or 
that have been spoiled by wet, overripened, and rendered fibrous and 
innutritious, are equally objectionable. In the main the feed should 
be laxative, as costiveness and straining are liable to cause abortion. 
Roots and green feed that have been frosted are objectionable, as 
being liable to cause indigestion, though in their fresh condition most 
wholesome and desirable. Ice-cold water should be avoided, as cal- 
culated to check the flow of milk, to derange digestion, and to cause 
abortion. A good temperature for the drink of the dairy cow is 
55° F. 

In the case of plethoric and heavy-milking cows of mature age and 
in the prime of life, the hitherto liberal diet must be changed at the 
last week for the scantiest possible fare, and the bowels must be kept 
open by laxatives, if need be, if the owner would avoid milk fever. 
The pregnant cow should be kept away from the sight and odor of 
dead carcasses, from the smell of decomposing animal matter, and 
from stagnant and corrupting water. Her stall should not incline 
downward from shoulder to croup, lest the pressure of the abdominal 
organs should produce protrusion or abortion. She should be kept 
aloof from all causes of acute diseases, and all existing diseases should 
be remedied speedily and with as little excitement of the abdominal 
organs as possible. Strong purgatives and diuretics are to be espe- 
cially avoided, unless it is in the very last days of gestation in very 
plethoric cows. 

Finally, in the case of pure breeds, close association with animals 
of other breeds or crosses, or with animals of other colors, forms, or 
with defects, is to be carefully guarded against. The effects shown 
in the progeny may be exceptional, yet they are none the less sources 
of preventable loss. 



160 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

PROTRUSION OF THE VAGINA (PROLAPSUS VAGINAE). 

During pregnancy this is common from chronic relaxation of the 
vaginal walls and from lying in stalls that are lower behind than in 
front. The protusion is of a rounded form and smooth, and if it 
embraces both sides of the canal it is double, with a passage between. 
It may sometimes be remedied by raising the hind part of the stall 
higher than the front part. This failing, a truss may be applied as 
for eversion of the womb, and worn until the period of calving 
approaches. (Pis. XXII, XXIII.) 

HERNIA (BREACH) OF THE UTERUS. 

In advanced pregnancy this occurs usually from a gradual relaxa- 
tion and distention of the lower wall of the abdomen in the region of 
the udder, so that the latter is displaced downward, and in the sac 
above and in front of it may be felt the form and movements of the 
fetus. In other cases the womb escapes through a great laceration of 
the abdominal muscles to one side of the udder, and the hernial mass 
extends down to one side of that organ. However unsightly, this 
often allows the animal to complete its pregnancy naturally, and a 
broad, supporting bandage placed around the abdomen is about all 
that can be recommended. After calving it is best to fatten the cow. 

CRAMPS OF THE HIND LIMBS. 

The compression of the nerves by the womb and fetus passing 
through the pelvis sometimes causes cramp and inability to move the 
limb, but it disappears under friction and motion and is never seen 
after calving. 

DROPSY OF THE HIND LIMBS AND BETWEEN THE THIGHS. 

In the latter months of pregnancy the hind legs may swell beneath 
the hocks, or a soft swelling which pits on pressure with the finger 
appears from the vulva down between the thighs to the udder and in 
front. It is mainly ascribable to the pressure of the enlarged womb 
on the blood vessels, is not dangerous, and disappears after calving. 

DROPSY OF THE MEMBRANES OF THE FETUS (DROPSY OF THE 

WOMB). 

The unimpregnated womb may be filled with a dropsical fluid, but 
the pregnant womb is more liable to become overdistended by an 
excess of fluid in the inner water bag in which the fetus floats. (PL 
XII.) From an unhealthy state of this membrane or of blood of 
the fetus (water blood) this liquid may go on accumulating until 
the cow seems almost as broad as she is long. If the trouble has not 
originated in the ill health of the cow, the result is still to draw on 
her system, overtax her strength, and derange her digestion, so that 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 161 

the result may prove fatal to both mother and offspring. On the 
other hand, I have known extreme cases that came to the natural term 
without help and produced a living calf, after which the dam did 
well. The natural resort is to draw off a portion of the fluid through 
a hollow needle, passed through the neck of the womb or through its 
tense wall adjacent. This may be repeated several times, as de- 
manded, to relieve the cow from the injurious distention. 

PARALYSIS OF THE HIND PARTS. 

In ill-fed, weak, unthrifty cows palsy of the hind limbs and tail 
may appear in the last weeks of pregnancy. The anus and rectum 
may participate in the palsy so far as to prevent defecation, and the 
rectum is more or less completely impacted. Exposure to wet and 
cold are often accessory causes, though the low condition, general 
weakness, and the pressure on the nerves going to the hind limbs are 
not to be forgotten. Something may be done for these cases by a 
warm, dry bed, an abundant diet fed warm, frictions with straw 
wisps or with a liniment of equal parts of oil of turpentine and sweet 
oil on the loins, croup, and limbs, by the daily use of ginger and gen- 
tian, by the cautious administration of strychnia (1 grain twice 
daily), and by sending a current of electricity daily from the loins 
through the various groups of muscles in the hind limbs. The case 
becomes increasingly hopeful after calving, though some days may 
still elapse before the animal can support herself upon her limbs. 

EXTRAUTERINE GESTATION (FETUS DEVELOPING OUTSIDE THE 

WOMB). 

These curious cases are rare and are usually divided into three 
types: (1) That in which the fetus is formed in or on the ovary 
(ovarian gestation) ; (2) that in which it is lodged in the Fallopian 
tube, or canal between the ovary and womb (tubal gestation) ; and 
(3) that in which it is lodged in the abdominal cavity and attached 
to one or more of its contents from which it draws its nourishment 
(abdominal gestation). Undoubted cases of the first and last varie- 
ties are recorded as occurring in the cow. The explanation of such 
cases is to be found in the fact that the actively moving sperm cells 
(spermatozoa) thrown into the womb have made their way through 
the Fallopian tubes to the ovary. If they met and impregnated an 
ovum in the tube, and if the consequent growth of that ovum pre- 
vented its descent and caused its imprisonment within the tube, it 
developed there, getting attached to and drawing nourishment from 
the mucous walls. Such product has its development arrested by 
compression by the undilatable tube, or, bursting through the walls 
33071°— 16 11 



162 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of the tube, it escapes into the abdomen and perishes. If, on the 
contrary, the spermatozoa only meet and impregnate the ovum on or 
in the ovary, the development may take place in the substance of the 
ovary, from which the fetus draws its nourishment, or the impreg- 
nated ovum, escaping between the ovary and the, open end of the 
tube, falls into the abdominal cavity and becomes adherent to and 
draws nourishment from some of the abdominal organs (womb, 
bowel, liver, stomach, etc.) 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are those of pregnancy, which may 
be suddenly complicated by inflammation (peritonitis), owing to 
rupture of the sac containing the fetus; or at full term signs of 
calving appear, but no progress is made; an examination with the 
oiled hand in the vagina or rectum finds the womb empty and its 
mouth closed. Further examination will disclose the fetal sac at- 
tached in some part of the abdominal cavity and containing the 
more or less perfectly developed body of a calf. In the most hope- 
ful cases the fetus perishes at an early stage of gestation, becomes 
inclosed in a fibrous sac, and is slowly absorbed, its soft parts becom- 
ing liquefied and removed and the bones remaining encysted. In 
some cases the bones have finally sloughed into the rectum or through 
an artificial opening in the side of the belly. 

Treatment. — Little can be done in such cases except to quiet pain 
and excitement by anodynes (opium, chloral, etc.) and leave the rest 
to nature. A fistula discharging bones may be dilated and the bones 
extracted, the sac being then washed out with a solution of 10 grains 
bichlorid of mercury in a quart of water. In certain cases with a 
live calf a skillful operator may be justified in cutting into the abdo- 
men and extracting the calf with its membranes, using the lotion just 
named as an antiseptic. 

PROLONGED RETENTION OF THE FETUS. 

Even when the fetus has developed within the womb it may fail to 
be delivered at the proper time; labor pains have quickly subsided 
and the cow resumed her usual health. In such cases the calf dies, 
and its soft parts are gradually liquefied and absorbed, while its bones 
remain for years in the womb inclosed in the remains of the fetal 
membranes. These may be expelled at any time through the natural 
channels, or they may remain indefinitely in the womb, not interfer- 
ing with the general health, but preventing conception. . 

If the true condition of things is recognized at the time of the sub- 
sidence of the labor pains, the mouth of the womb may be dilated by 
the fingers, by the insertion of sponge tents, or by a mechanical 
dilator (PI. XX, fig. 6), the fetal membranes may be ruptured and 
the calf extracted. After the removal of the calf and its membranes 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 163 

the danger of putrid poisoning may be obviated by injecting the 
antiseptic solution advised in the paragraph above. 

ABORTION (SLINKING THE CALF). 

Technically, abortion is the term used for the expulsion of the off- 
spring before it can live out of the womb. Its expulsion before the 
normal time, but after it is capable of an independent existence, is 
premature parturition. In the cow this may be after seven and one- 
half months of pregnancy. Earl Spencer failed to raise any calf born 
before the two hundred and forty-second day. Dairymen use the 
term abortion for the expulsion of the product of conception at any 
time before the completion of the full period of a normal pregnancy, 
and in this sense it will be used in this article. 

Abortion in cows is either contagious or noncontagious. It does 
not follow that the contagium is the sole cause in every case in which 
it is present. We know that the organized germs (microbes) of 
contagion vary much in potency at different times, and that the ani- 
mal system also varies in susceptibility to their attack. The germ 
may therefore be present in a herd without any manifest injury, its 
disease-producing power having for the time abated considerably, 
or the whole herd being in a condition of comparative insuscepti- 
bility. At other times the same germ may have become so virulent 
that almost all pregnant cows succumb to its force, or the herd may 
have been subjected to other causes of abortion which, though of 
themselves powerless to actually cause abortion, may yet so predis- 
pose the animals that even the weaker germ will operate with de- 
structive effect. In dealing with this disease, therefore, it is the part 
of wisdom not to rest satisfied with the discovery and removal of 
one specific cause, but rather to try to find every existent cause and 
to obtain a remedy by correcting all the harmful conditions. 

NONCONTAGIOUS ABORTION. 

As abortion most frequently occurs at those three-week intervals 
at which the cow would have been in heat if nonpregnant, we may 
assume a predisposition at such times owing to a periodicity in the 
nervous system and functions. Poor condition, weakness, and a too 
watery state of the blood is often a predisposing cause. This in its 
turn may result from poor or insufficient feed, from the excessive 
drain upon the udder while bearing the calf, from the use of feed 
deficient in certain essential elements, like the nitrogenous constitu- 
ents or albuminoids, from chronic, wasting diseases, from round- 
worms or tapeworms in the bowels, from flat worms (flukes, trema- 
todes) in the liver, from worms in the lungs, from dark, damp, un- 
healthful buildings, etc. In some such cases the nourishment is so 



164 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

deficient that the fetus dies in the womb and is expelled in conse- 
quence. Excessive loss of blood, attended as it usually is with shock, 
becomes a direct cause of abortion. 

Acute inflammations of important organs are notorious causes of 
abortion, and in most contagious fevers (lung plague, rinderpest, 
foot-and-mouth disease) it is a common result. Affections of the 
chest which prevent due aeration of the blood induce contractions of 
the womb, as shown experimentally by Brown- Sequard. Pregnant 
women suffocated in smoke aborted in many cases. (Retoul.) 

Ergoted grasses have long been known as a cause of widespread 
abortion in cows. The ergot is familiar as the dark purple or black, 
hard, spurlike growths which protrude from the seeds of the grasses 
at the period of their ripening. (PI. V.) It is especially common 
in damp localities and cloudy seasons on meadows shaded by trees 
and protected against the free sweep of the winds. The same is to 
a large extent true of smut; hence, wet years have been often re- 
markable for the great prevalence of abortions. Abortions have 
greatly increased in New Zealand among cows since the introduction 
of rye grass, which is specially subject to ergot. As abortion is more 
prevalent in old dairying districts, the ergot may not be the sole 
cause in this instance. 

The riding of one another by cows is attended by such severe mus- 
cular exertion, jars, jolts, mental excitement, and gravitation of the 
womb and abdominal organs backward that it may easily cause 
abortion in a predisposed animal. 

Keeping in stalls that slope too much behind (more than 2 inches) 
acts in the same way, the compression from lying and the gravita- 
tion backward proving more than a predisposed cow can safely bear. 

Deep gutters behind the stalls, into which one or both hind limbs 
slip unexpectedly, strain the loins and jar the body and womb most 
injuriously. Slippery stalls in which the flooring boards are laid 
longitudinally in place of transversely, and on which there is no 
device to give a firm foothold, are almost equally dangerous. Driv- 
ing on icy ground, or through a narrow doorway where the abdomen 
is liable to be jammed, are other common causes. Aborting cows 
often fail to expel the afterbirth, and if this remains hanging in a 
putrid condition it is most injurious to pregnant cows in the near 
vicinity. So with retained afterbirth in other cows after calving. 
That some cows kept in filthy stables or with slaughterhouses near by 
may become inured to the odors and escape the evil results is no 
disproof of the injurious effects so often seen in such cases. 

The excitement, jarring, and jolting of a railroad journey often 
cause abortion, especially as the cow nears the period of calving, and 
the terror or injury of railway or other accidents prove incom- 
parably worse. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 165 

All irritant poisons cause abortions by the disorder and inflamma- 
tion of the digestive organs, and if such agents act also on the kidneys 
or womb, the effect is materially enhanced. Powerful purgatives or 
diuretics should never be administered to the pregnant cow. 

Among other causes of abortion must be named the death or the 
various illnesses of the fetus, which are about as numerous as those 
of the adult; the slipping of a young fetus through a loop in the 
navel string so as to tie a knot which will tighten later and interrupt 
the flow of blood with fatal effect, and the twisting of the navel 
string by the turning of the fetus until little or no blood can flow 
through the contorted cord. There is in addition a series of diseases 
of the mucous membrane of the womb, and of the fetal membranes 
(inflammation, effusion of blood, detachment of the membranes from 
the womb, fatty or other degenerations, etc.), which interfere with 
the supply of blood to the fetus or change its quality so that death 
is the natural result, followed by abortion. 

Treatment. — Although the first symptoms of abortion have ap- 
peared, it does not follow that it will go on to completion. So long 
as the fetus has not perished, if the waters have not been discharged, 
nor the water bags presented, attempts should be made to check its 
progress. Every appreciable and removable cause should be done 
away with, the cow should be placed in a quiet stall alone, and agents 
given to check the excitement of the labor pains. Laudanum in 
doses of 1 ounce for a small cow or 2 ounces, for a large one should 
be promptly administered, and repeated in three or four hours 
should the labor pains recur. This may be kept up for days or even 
weeks if necessary, though that is rarely required, as the trouble 
either subsides or abortion occurs. If the laudanum seems to lack 
permanency of action, use bromid of potassium, or, better, extract 
of Viburnum, prunifolium (black haw), 40 grains, at intervals of 
two or three hours until five or six doses have been given 

CONTAGIOUS ABORTION. 

Contagious abortion (also known as epizootic abortion, enzootic 
abortion, and slinking of calves) is a disease affecting chiefly cattle 
and to a lesser degree other domestic animals, and characterized by 
an inflammatory condition of the female reproductive organs, which 
results in the expulsion of the immature young. 

History. — This disease has been known in England and continental 
Europe for many years, and descriptions of it are mentioned in the 
writings of Mascal, Lafoose, Skellet, Lawrence, St. Cyr, Ziindel, and 
Youatt. In the early part of the eighteenth century British veter- 
inarians recognized its contagiousness, but it remained for Franck 
(1876), Lehnert (1878), and Brauer (1880) to produce the disease in 



166 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

healthy, pregnant cows by the introduction of exudate and material 
from aborting animals. Nocard (1888) isolated from the exudate 
between the mucous membrane of the uterus and fetal membranes 
a micrococcus and a short bacillus which were found continually 
in contagious abortion, but he failed to reproduce the disease by 
inoculations of pure cultures of these organisms into healthy, preg- 
nant animals. In 1897 Bang, assisted by Stribolt, published their 
findings regarding infectious abortion of cattle, in which they in- 
criminated Bang's bacillus of abortion as the causative agent. With 
pure cultures of this bacillus they were able to produce the disease 
artificially and to recover the same organism from the experimental 
cases. Since that time many noted investigators, both in this country 
and in Europe, have confirmed these findings. 

Cause. — The Bacillus abortus of Bang is now generally recognized 
as the causative agent of the disease of cattle. Formerly it was 
thought that abortion was due to injury, such as blows, horn thrusts, 
falls, etc., or the eating of spoiled feed and certain plants, and while 
this may be true in a limited number of cases, careful investigations 
have demonstrated these claims to be largely unfounded. It is now 
generally recognized that when abortion occurs in herds from time 
to time, it is safe to assume that the disorder is of an infectious 
nature and should be so treated. 

Natural mode of infection. — This phase of the disease is of greatest 
importance for a clear understanding of the methods of prevention. 
Many investigators claim to have demonstrated that the infection is 
transmitted through the digestive tract, by consuming contaminated 
feed and water. The germs are taken up by the body from the in- 
testines with the liquid nourishment, reach the blood, and are carried 
to the genital organs, where they find conditions best suited to their 
development. Some assert that calves are infected in this manner 
by suckling infected mothers, the germs being present in the milk, 
or the teats having been contaminated by coming in contact with in- 
fective discharges. It is claimed that infection contracted in this 
manner remains dormant in the body of the calf until pregnancy 
begins, and then the organism, finding conditions suitable for its de- 
velopment, produces the disease. 

Abortion may be transmitted from cow to cow by direct contact. 
The discharges from diseased cows, swarming with the germs, soil 
the external genitals, tail, and hind, quarters, and then a susceptible 
animal, by contact, gets the infective material upon the vulva, the 
infection traveling up the genital canal and directly infecting the 
uterus. 

The most important and most frequent mode of infection, however, 
is that occurring through the act of copulation. The bull, having 
become infected by serving an infected cow, carries the infection 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 167 

directly into the uterus of the susceptible animal at the time of 
service. Cows of all ages are more or less susceptible, but young 
ones in first or second pregnancy most frequently abort. A second 
abortion is not unusual, and a third may occasionally occur, after 
which the cow usually becomes immune and thereafter carries her 
calf to maturity. Heifers from aborting mothers sometimes seem to 
be less susceptible than others. 

Symptoms. — Contagious abortion is a very insidious disease, de- 
veloping very slowly through several months of the gestation period, 
and resulting finally in the expulsion of the immature young, this act 
being simply an indication of the presence of the disease and not the 
disease itself. Because of this slow development and the fact that 
the health of the animal is not noticeably influenced, the presence 
of the disease may not be suspected until it has gained a firm foot- 
hold in the herd. The sj'mptoms of approaching abortion are those 
preceding normal calving. In addition, there may be observed, a 
few days previous to abortion, a sticky, sometimes purulent, rusty, 
and odorless discharge. Abortion occurs most frequently from the 
third to the seventh month, according to the number of abortions, 
occurring early in first abortion, and later in each succeeding abor- 
tion until the calf is carried full term and the mother has become 
immune. It happens frequently that calves are carried almost to 
full term, and are born alive, but are sickly, and soon die. Following 
abortion there is a dirt} 7 , yellowish-gray mucopurulent discharge 
which persists for two or more -weeks. If abortion occurs early, the 
fetus is passed surrounded by its membranes, but if late in the period 
of pregnancy, the membranes are retained, decomposition sets in and 
blood poisoning, which may cause the death of the animal, or 
sterility may result. 

Lesions. — The most characteristic change is found in the uterus 
where a dark-brown fluid, purulent or even gluey in consistency, 
and containing grayish-white flakes separates the material mem- 
branes from those of the fetus, preventing that intimate contact 
between the two which is so necessary for the interchange of fluids 
and gases by which the fetus is nourished and by which it obtains 
its oxygen. These being cut off, the fetus must of course die. The 
germs producing the disease are found in greatest numbers at this 
point. In addition there may be inflammatory changes, first in the 
walls of the uterus and then in the tissues of the fetus. These in- 
flammatory changes seem most intense in the cotyledons and result 
in the destruction of the minute structure of those bodies, and they 
appear swollen, pale, and soft. The membrane of the uterus between 
the cotyledons also may show inflamed and necrotic patches. 

Complications. — Serious results sometimes follow abortion, and 
this is particularly the case when there is retained afterbirth. The 



168 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

retained membranes decompose, the poisonous products of decompo- 
sition and the organisms of decomposition themselves are absorbed, 
blood poisoning results, and the animal dies. Sometimes, when the 
animal is able to resist the effects of this decomposition, the uterus 
becomes the seat of such severe changes that sterility results. The 
walls of that organ become thickened and hard, the lining mem- 
branes become eroded, and conception can not take place. At other 
times the ovaries, where the reproductive cells originate, become 
affected and lose their function. Abortion does not invariably fol- 
low infection, but the calf is carried to full term. In these cases, 
however, retained afterbirth is a common occurrence, even to the 
extent that frequent retention of afterbirth in a herd may be taken 
as an indication of the presence of the disease. Very often sup- 
purative processes persist for a long time, preventing conception, or 
sterility may result without apparent cause. A sterile cow is value- 
less, of course, for any purpose except for beef. Such animals are 
a source of infection for the others and should not be allowed to 
remain in the herd. 

Diagnosis. — The diagnosis of infectious abortion is made from 
the changes occurring in the fetal membranes and in the expelled 
fetus. This, however, is substantiated with certainty only by micro- 
scopic demonstration of the germ of abortion. The fact that re- 
peated abortions are observed in a herd is also evidence of the 
presence of the disease. In consideration, however, of the fact that 
animals may be affected with the disease and disseminate the germs, 
even though they carry the fetus to full time, a diagnosis in such 
instances is only possible by laboratory methods. For this purpose 
the agglutination and also the complement-fixation tests are being 
used with splendid results, and by the aid of these biological tests 
it is possible to determine all infected animals in a herd. The tests 
are carried out with the serum from animals to be examined, only 
a teaspoonful of serum being necessary for the execution of both of 
these tests. It, however, has to be confined to laboratories which are 
properly equipped for such work. 

Treatment and prevention. — It may be said in general that treat- 
ment is without avail and all efforts should be directed toward pre- 
vention. Various medicinal agents, such as carbolic acid adminis- 
tered subcutaneously and methylene blue fed in large quantities, 
have been recommended, but have failed to stand the tests of scien- 
tific investigation and practical use. Serums and vaccines have 
also been prepared and sold as cures and preventives, but the work 
is still considered in the experimental stage. 

Bacterial vaccines are at present extensively used in the control 
of this disease, and while numerous reports indicate beneficial re- 



DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE OEGANS. 169 

suits from their administration, in other instances total failures have 
been recorded. It appears that the experiments in this line have not 
progressed sufficiently to justify definite conclusions. 

Prevention consists largely in sanitary measures directed toward 
the disinfection of premises and animals. For a method for disinfec- 
tion of premises see page 361. 

The following procedure is advised for the disinfection of animals : 
To prevent the bull from carrying the infection from a diseased cow 
to a healthy one, first clip the tuft of long hair from the opening of 
the sheath, then disinfect the penis and sheath with a solution of 0.5 
per cent of compound cresol solution, lysol, or trikresol, or 1 per 
cent carbolic acid, or 1 to 1,000 potassium permanganate in warm 
water. The only apparatus necessary is a soft-rubber tube with a 
large funnel attached to one end, or an ordinary fountain s}<ringe 
and tube would serve the purpose. The tube should be inserted into 
the sheath and the foreskin held with the hand to prevent the 
immediate escape of the fluid. Elevate the funnel as much as possible 
and pour the fluid in until the preputial sac is filled. In addition 
to this the hair of the belly and inner sides of the thigh should be 
sponged with the antiseptic. This disinfection should invariably pre- 
cede and follow every service. 

An aborting cow should receive immediate attention, and the ani- 
mal should be removed to separate quarters where she can receive 
appropriate treatment. The fetus, membranes, and discharges are 
particularly dangerous and should be gathered up and destroyed 
immediately by burning or by burial in some safe place, followed by 
thoroughly disinfecting the stall. The uterus should be irrigated 
daily with one of the antiseptics mentioned for the bull, using the 
same apparatus, and irrigation should be continued until discharge 
ceases. In addition, the external genitals, root of tail, escutcheon, 
etc., should be sponged daily with a solution twice as strong as that 
used for irrigation; this latter treatment should be given the non- 
aborters as well. Should the preliminary symptoms of abortion be 
detected, the animal should be removed from the herd and treated 
us above. 

After abortion, breeding should not again be attempted within two 
months, or until the discharge shall have ceased, as the uterus would 
not be normal, and the animal either would not conceive or would 
abort again in a short time. 

Great care should be used in purchasing cattle, and cows not 
known to be free from the disease should be kept in separate quarters 
until this point is determined. If a herd bull is not kept, then great 
care should be taken to know that the animal used is free of disease 
and to see that he is properly treated both before and after service. 



170 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Whenever it becomes necessary to separate diseased and healthy 
animals, it is especially important that different attendants and 
utensils be provided for the two groups. 

GRANULAR VENEREAL DISEASE (INFECTIOUS GRANULAR 

VAGINITIS). 

The affection to which the foregoing names have been given is a 
chronic, mild, and apparently contagious disease of cattle, character- 
ized by an inflammatory condition of the mucous membrane of the 
vagina and the development of nodules upon its surface. At the 
present time the causative agent is said to be an encapsulated strep- 
tococcus. 

This disease is very widely spread, but from an economic point of 
view it does not appear to have great significance. Williams, who 
investigated it, asserts that it is difficult to find a single herd in this 
country which is free of this disease. He considers it of great im- 
portance, claiming that granular vaginitis has a vital relation to 
abortion. This view, however, is not substantiated by other investi- 
gators, it being now generally accepted that the disease is only rarely 
responsible for abortion, and further, that it exerts no apparent ill 
effects on the health of the animal and that it has no effect on the 
milk yield. 

Symptoms. — Natural infection may take place either by direct 
contact of animals or at the time of service. Most of the cows in the 
affected herd contract the disease, but the bulls are rarely or very 
mildly affected. The inflamed condition of the membranes of the 
vagina results in a catarrhal exudate, and this discharge, which soils 
the external genitals and the tail, and the uneasiness and sometimes 
the straining of the animal, are the first and most prominent symp- 
toms observed. Upon examination, small, hard, grayish nodules can 
be seen and felt upon the inflamed membranes. This acute stage 
may last for three or four weeks, then it gradually subsides and 
assumes the chronic form, only to flare up again as the animal comes 
in heat. 

These nodules are sometimes found upon the membranes of the 
uterus, and some investigators have argued from this fact that it 
was responsible for abortion and sterility. Others, however, deny 
this and point out that the bacillus of abortion can be demonstrated 
in nearly every case. The importance of the disease is therefore in 
dispute and the decision must be left to future investigation. 

Treatment. — The exaggerated importance which has been attached 
to this disease resulted in the exploitation of the most varied kinds 
of remedies for its treatment. It is true that with a protracted and 
laborious treatment it is possible to effect cures in from one to three 
months, but with our present knowledge of this disorder it is ad- 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 171 

visable to limit the treatment to animals which show an acute in- 
flammatory condition of the vagina and vulva with a discharge as a 
result of the granular affection. The treatment should be local and 
confined to the application of antiseptic washes in the form of irri- 
gations. For this purpose a 0.5 per cent solution of cresol com- 
pound, lysol, or Lugol's solution has been found satisfactory. 

PARTURITION (CALVING). 

SYMPTOMS OF CALVING. 

In the cow the premonitions of calving are the enlargement of the 
udder, which becomes firm and resistant to the touch, with more or 
less swelling in front, and yields a serous, milky fluid; the enlarge- 
ment and swelling of the vulva, which discharges an abundant, stringy 
mucus ; the drooping of the belly, and the falling in of the muscles at 
each side of the root of the tail, so as to leave deep hollows. When 
this last symptom is seen, calving may be counted on in 24 hours 
or in 2 or 3 days. When the act is imminent, the cow becomes 
uneasy, moves restlessly, leaves off eating, in the field leaves the 
herd, lies down and rises again as if in pain, shifts upon her hind 
feet, moves the tail, and may bellow or moan. When labor pains 
come on the back is arched, the croup drooped, the belly is drawn 
up, and straining is more or less violent and continuous. Meanwhile 
blood may have appeared on the vulva and tail, and soon the clear 
water bags protrude between the lips of the vulva. They increase 
rapidly, hanging down toward the hocks, and the fore or hind feet 
can be detected within them. With the rupture of the bags and 
escape of the waters the womb contracts on the solid, angular body of 
the fetus and is at once stimulated to more violent contractions, so 
that the work proceeds with redoubled energy to the complete expul- 
sion. This is why it is wrong to rupture the water bags if the pre- 
sentation is normal, as they furnish a soft, uniform pressure for 
the preliminary dilation of the mouth of the womb and passages, 
in anticipation of the severe strain put upon them as the solid body 
of the calf passes. 

The cow often calves standing, in which case the navel string is 
broken as the calf falls to the ground. If, however, she is recumbent, 
this cord is torn through as she rises. The afterpains come on 3 or 
4 hours later and expel the membranes, which should never be left 
longer than 24 hours. 

NATURAL PRESENTATION. 

When there is but one calf the natural presentation is that of the 
fore feet with the front of the hoofs and knees turned upward to- 
ward the tail of the dam and the nose lying between the knees. (PL 
XV.) If there are twins the natural position of the second is that of 



172 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the hind feet, the heels and hocks turned upward toward the cow's 
tail. (PI. XVIII, fig. 1.) In both of these natural positions the 
curvature of the body of the calf — the back arched upward — is the 
same with the curvature of the passages, which descend anteriorly 
into the womb, ascend over the brim of the pelvis, and descend again 
toward the external opening (vulva). Any presentation differing 
from the above is abnormal. 

OBSTACLES TO PARTURITION. 

With a well-formed cow and calf and a natural presentation as 
above, calving is usually prompt and easy. Obstacles may, however, 
come from failure of the mouth of the womb to dilate ; from twisting 
of the neck of the womb ; from tumors in the vagina ; from dropsy in 
the womb or abdomen; from overdistension of the rectum or bladder; 
from undue narrowing of the passages; from excess of fat in the 
walls of the pelvis; from the disturbance of a nervous cow by noises; 
from stone or urine in the bladder; from wrong presentation of the 
calf, its back being turned downward or to one side in place of up- 
ward toward the spine of the dam; from the bending backward of 
one or more limbs or of the head into the body of the womb; from 
presentation of the back, shoulder, or croup, all four limbs being 
turned back; from presentation of all four feet at once; from ob- 
struction caused by an extra head or extra limbs, or double body on 
the part of the offspring (PI. XIX) ; from dropsy or other disease 
of the calf; from excessive or imperfect development of the calf; 
from the impaction of twins into the passages at the same time; or 
at times it may be from the mere excessive volume of the fetus. 

GENERAL MAXIMS FOR THE ASSISTANT CONCERNING DIFFICULT PARTURITION. 

Do not interfere too soon. " Meddlesome midwifery is bad " with 
animals as with women. After labor pains set in, give a reasonable 
time for the water bags to protrude and burst spontaneously, and 
only interfere when delay suggests some mechanical obstruction. If 
there is no mechanical obstruction, let the calf be expelled slowly 
by the unaided efforts of the cow. Bruises and lacerations of the 
passages and flooding from the uncontracted womb may come from 
the too speedy extraction of the calf. When assistance is necessary, 
the operator should dress in a thick flannel shirt from which the 
sleeves have been cut off clear to the shoulders. This avoids danger 
of exposure and yet leaves the whole arm free and untrammeled. 
Before inserting the hand it and the arm should be smeared with oil, 
lard, or vaseline, care being taken that the oil or lard is fresh, neither 
salted nor rancid, and that it has been purified by boiling or rendered 
antiseptic by the addition of a teaspoonful of carbolic acid to the 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 173 

pound. This is a valuable precaution against infecting the cow by 
introducing putrid ferments into the passages and against poisoning 
of the arm by decomposing discharges in case the calving is unduly 
protracted. When labor pains have lasted some time without any 
signs of the water bags, the dropping in at the. sides of the rump, 
and the other preparations for calving being accomplished, the hand 
should be introduced to examine. When the water bags have burst 
and neither feet nor head appear for some time, examination should 
be made. When one fore foot only and the head appear, or both 
fore feet without the head, or the head without the fore feet, exam- 
ine. If one hind foot appears without the other, make examination. 
The presenting limb or head should be secured by a rope with a run- 
ning noose, so that it may not pass back into the womb and get lost 
during the subsequent manipulations, but may be retained in the 
vagina or brought up again easily. In searching for a missing mem- 
ber it is usually better to turn the head of the cow downhill, so that 
the gravitation of the fetus and abdominal organs forward into the 
belly of the cow may give more room in which to bring up the miss- 
ing limb or head. If the cow is lying down, turn her on the side 
opposite to that on which the limb is missing, so that there may be 
more room for bringing the latter up. Even if a missing limb is 
reached, it is vain to attempt to bring it up during a labor pain. 
Wait until the pain has ceased and attempt to straighten out the 
limb before the next pain comes on. If the pains are violent and 
continuous, they may be checked by pinching the back or by putting 
a tight surcingle aroung the body in front of the udder. These fail- 
ing, 1 ounce or H ounces of chloral hydrate in a quart of water may 
be given to check the pains. If the passages have dried up or lost 
their natural, lubricating liquid, smear the interior of the passages 
and womb and the surface of the calf, so far as it can be reached, 
with pure fresh lard; or pure sweet oil may be run into the womb 
through a rubber tube (fountain syringe). In dragging upon the 
fetus apply strong traction only while the mother is straining and 
drag downward toward the hocks as well as backward. The natural 
curvature of both fetus and passages is thus followed and the extrac- 
tion rendered easier. 

LABOR PAINS BEFORE RELAXATION OF THE PASSAGES. 

Any of the various causes of abortion may bring on labor pains 
before the time. Straining comes on days or weeks before the time, 
and there is not the usual enlargement, swelling, and mucous dis- 
charge from the vulva. There is little or no falling in by the sides 
of the root of the tail; the abdomen has not dropped to the usual 
extent, and the udder is less developed and yields little or no milk. 
In spite of the pains no water bags appear, and the oiled hand cau- 



174 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

tiously introduced into the vagina finds the neck of the womb firmly- 
closed, rigid, and undilatable. If it is known that the cow has not 
reached her proper time of calving, the examination through the 
vagina should be omitted and the animal should be placed in a dark, 
quiet place by herself, and be given 1 to 2 ounces laudanum. Vibur- 
num prunifolium (black haw), 1 ounce, may be added, if necessarj^, 
and repeated in three hours. The pains will usually subside. 

In some instances the external parts are relaxed and duly prepared, 
but the neck of the womb remains rigidly closed. In such case the 
solid extract of belladonna should be smeared around the constricted 
opening and the animal left quiet until it relaxes. 

DISEASED INDURATION OF THE MOUTH OF THE WOMB. 

From previous lacerations or other injuries the neck of the womb 
may have become the seat of fibrous hardening and constriction, so as 
to prevent its dilatation, when all other parts are fully prepared for 
calving. The enlarged, flabby vulva, the sinking at each side of the 
rump, the full udder, and drooping abdomen indicate the proper time 
for calving, but the labor pains effect no progress in the dilatation of 
the mouth of the womb, and the oiled hand introduced detects the 
rigid, hard, and, in some cases, nodular feeling of the margins of the 
closed orifice which no application of belladonna or other antispas- 
modic suffices to relax. Sponge tents may be inserted or the mechan- 
ical dilator (PL XX, fig. 6) may be used if there is opening enough to 
admit it, and if not, a narrow-bladed, probe-pointed knife (PL 
XXIV, fig. 2) may be passed through the orifice and turned upward, 
downward, and to each side, cutting to a depth not exceeding a 
quarter of an inch in each case. This done, a finger may be inserted, 
then two, three, and four, and finally all four fingers and thumb 
brought together in the form of a cone and made to push in with 
rotary motion until the whole hand can be introduced. After this 
the labor pains will induce further dilation, and finally the present- 
ing members of the calf will complete the process. 

TWISTING OF THE NECK OF THE WOMB. 

This is not very uncommon in the cow, the length of the body of 
the womb and the looseness of the broad ligaments that attach it to 
the walls of the pelvis favoring the twisting. It is as if one were to 
take a long sack rather loosely filled at the neck and turn over its 
closed end, so that its twisting should occur in the neck. The twist 
may be one-quarter round, so that the upper surface would come to 
look to one side, or it may be half round, so that what was the upper 
surface becomes the lower. The relation of the womb of the cow to 
the upper and right side of the paunch favors the twisting. The 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 175 

paunch occupies the whole left side of the abdomen and extends 
across its floor to the right side. Its upper surface thus forms an 
inclined plane, sloping from the left downward and to the right, and 
on this sloping surface lies the pregnant womb. 

It is easy to see how, in the constant movements of the paunch 
upon its contents and the frequent changes of position of the growing 
fetus within the womb, to say nothing of the contractions of the adja- 
cent bowels and the more or less active movements of the cow, the 
womb should roll downward to the right. Yet in many cases the 
twist is toward the left, showing that it is not the result of a simple 
rolling downward over the paunch, but rather of other disturbances. 
The condition may be suspected when labor pains have continued 
for some time without any sign of the water bags, and it is con- 
firmed when the oiled hand, introduced through the vagina, finds the 
mouth of the womb soft and yielding, but furnished with internal 
folds running forward in a spiral manner. If the folds on the upper 
wall of the orifice run toward the right, the womb is twisted to the 
right ; if, on the contrary, they turn toward the left, it indicates that 
the womb is turned over in that direction. The direction of the twist 
must be known before treatment can be undertaken. Then, if the 
twist is toward the right, the cow is laid upon her right side with her 
head downhill, the hand of the operator is introduced through the 
spirally constricted neck of the womb, and a limb or other portion of 
the body of the calf is seized and pressed firmly against the wall of 
the womb. Meanwhile two or three assistants roll the cow from her 
right side over on her back to her left side. The object is to hold the 
womb and calf still while the body of the cow rolls over. If success- 
ful, the twist is undone, its grasp on the w T rist is slackened, and the 
water bags and calf press into the now open passage. If the first 
attempt does not succeed, it is to be repeated until success has been 
attained. If the spiral folds on the upper wall of the opening turn 
toward the left, the cow is laid on her left side and rolled over on 
her back and on to the right side, the hand being, as before, within 
the womb and holding the fetus, so that all may not rotate with the 
cow. In introducing the hand it will usually be found needful to 
perforate the membranes, so that a limb of the calf may be seized 
direct and firmly held. Among my occasional causes of failure with 
these cases have been, first, the previous death and decomposition 
of the fetus, leading to such overdistention of the womb that it could 
not be made to rotate within the abdomen, and, second, the occur- 
rence of inflammation and an exudate on the twisted neck of the 
womb, which hindered it from untwisting. 

In obstinate cases, in which the hand can be made to pass through 
the neck of the womb easily, additional help may be had from the use 
of the instrument shown in Plate XX, figure 5. Two cords, with run- 



176 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ning nooses, are successively introduced and made fast on two limbs 
of the calf; the cords are then passed through the two rings on the 
end of the instrument, which is passed into the womb and the cords 
drawn tight and fixed round the handle. Then, using the handle as a 
lever, it is turned in the direction opposite to the twist. The hand 
should meanwhile be introduced into the womb and the snared limbs 
seized and pressed against its walls so as to secure the rotation of the 
uterus along with the body of the fetus. The relaxation of the con- 
striction and the effacement of the spiral folds will show when suc- 
cess has been gained, and the different members at one end of the body 
should then be brought up so as to secure a natural presentation. 

NARROW PELVIS FROM FRACTURE OR DISEASE. 

In a small cow the pelvis may be too narrow to pass a calf sired by 
a bull of a large breed, but this is exceptional, as the fetus usually 
accommodates itself to the size of the dam and makes its extra growth 
after birth. When the pelvic bones have been fractured repair takes 
place with the formation of a large permanent callus, which, project- 
ing internally, may be a serious obstacle to calving. Worse still, if 
the edge of the broken bone projects internally as a sharp spike or 
ridge, the vaginal walls are cut upon it during the passage of the 
calf, with serious or fatal result. In other cases, where the cow has 
suffered from fragility of bone (fragilitas ossium) the thickening of 
the bone causes narrowing of the long passage of the pelvis and the 
crumbling fractures poorly repaired, with an excess of brittle new 
material, may form an insuperable obstacle to parturition. Cows 
affected in any of these ways should never again be bred, but if they 
do get pregnant and reach full time a careful examination will be 
necessary to determine whether natural parturition can take place 
or if the calf must be extracted in pieces. (See "Embryotomy," p. 
200.) 

OBSTRUCTION BY MASSES OF FAT. 

This is not unknown in old cows of the beef breeds, the enormous 
masses of fat upon and within the pelvis being associated with weak- 
ness or fatty degeneration of the muscles. If the presentation is 
natural, little more is wanted than a judicious traction upon the 
fetus to compress and overcome the soft resisting masses. 

OBSTRUCTION BY A FULL BLADDER OR RECTUM OR BY STONE. 

In all cases of delayed or tardy parturition the evacuation of 
rectum and bladder is important, and it is no less so in all difficult 
parturitions. Stone in the bladder is fortunately rare in the cow, 
but when present it should be removed to obviate crushing and 
perhaps perforation of the organ during calving. 



DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE ORGANS. 177 

CALVING RETARDED BY NERVOUSNESS. 

In a public fair ground I have seen labor pains begin early in the 
day and keep up in a weak and insufficient manner for many hours, 
until the stall was thoroughly closed in and the cow secluded from 
the constant stream of visitors and the incessant noise, when at once 
the pains became strong and effective and the calf was soon born. 

COAGULATED BLOOD UNDER THE VAGINAL WALLS. 

This is common after calving, but sometimes occurs before, as 
the result of accidental injury. The mass may be recognized by its 
dark hue and the doughy sensation to the touch. It may be cut into 
and the mass turned out with the fingers, after which it should be 
washed frequently with an antiseptic lotion (carbolic acid 1 dram in 
1 quart of water). 

CONSTRICTION OF A MEMBER BY THE NAVEL STRING. 

In early fetal life the winding of the navel string around a limb may 
cause the latter to be slowly cut off by absorption under the constrict- 
ing cord. So at calving the cord wound round a presenting member 
may retard progress somewhat, and though the calf may still be born 
tardily by the unaided efforts of the mother, it is liable to come still- 
born, because the circulation in the cord is interrupted by compres- 
sion before the offspring can reach the open air and commence to 
breathe. If, therefore, it is possible to anticipate and prevent this 
displacement and compression of the navel string it should be done, 
but if this is no longer possible, then the extraction of the calf should 
be effected as rapidly as possible, and if breathing is not at once 
attempted it should be started by artificial means. 

WATER IN THE HEAD OF THE CALF (HYDROCEPHALUS). 

This is an enormous distention of the cavity holding the brain, by 
reason of the accumulation of liquid in the internal cavities (ventri- 
cles) of the brain substance. The head back of the eyes rises into a 
great rounded ball (PI. XIX, figs. 4 and 5), which proves an insuper- 
able obstacle to parturition. The fore feet and nose being the parts 
presented, no progress can be made, and even if the feet are pulled 
upon the nose can not by any means be made to appear. The oiled 
hand introduced into the passages will feel the nose presenting be- 
tween the fore limbs, and on passing the hand back over the face the 
hard rounded mass of the cranium is met with. A sharp-pointed 
knife or a cannula and trocar should be introduced in the palm of the 
hand and pushed into the center of the rounded mass so as to evacu- 
ate the water. The hand is now used to press together the hitherto 
distended but thin and fragile walls, and the calf may be delivered 
33071°— 16 12 



178 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

in the natural way. If the enlarged head is turned backward it must 
still be reached and punctured, after which it must be brought up 
into position and the calf delivered. 

If the hind feet present first, all may go well until the body and 
shoulders have passed out, when further progress is suddenly ar- 
rested by the great bulk of the head. If possible, the hand, armed 
with a knife or trocar, must be passed along the side of the shoulder 
or neck so as to reach and puncture the distended head. Failing in 
this, the body may be skinned up from the belly and cut in two at the 
shoulder or neck, after which the head can easily be reached and 
punctured. If in such case the fore limbs have been left in the 
womb, they may now be brought up into the passage, and when 
dragged upon the collapsed head will follow. 

If the distention is not sufficient to have rendered the bony walls of 
the cranium thin and fragile, so that they can be compressed with the 
hand after puncture, a special method may be necessary. A long 
incision should be made from behind forward in the median line of 
the cranium with an embryotomy knife (PL XXI, fig. 1) or with a 
long embryotome (PI. XX, fig. 3). By this means the bones on the 
one side are completely separated from those on the other and may 
be made to overlap and perhaps to flatten down. If this fails they 
may be cut from the head all around the base of the rounded cranial 
swelling by means of a guarded chisel (PL XX, fig. 8) and mallet, 
after which there will be no difficulty in causing them to collapse. 

DROPSY OF THE ABDOMEN OF THE CALF (ASCITES). 

This is less frequent than hydrocephalus, but no less difficult to 
deal with. With an anterior presentation the fore limbs and head 
may come away easily enough, but no effort will advance the calf 
beyond the shoulders. The first thought should be dropsy of the 
belly, and the oiled hand introduced by the side of the chest will 
detect the soft and fluctuating yet tense sac of the abdomen. If there 
is space to allow of the introduction of an embryotomy knife, the 
abdomen may be freely cut with this, when the fluid will escape into 
the womb and parturition may proceed naturally. If this can not 
be effected, a long trocar and cannula may be passed between the first 
two ribs and straight on beneath the spine until it punctures the 
abdomen. (PL XVIII, fig. 2.) Then the trocar is to be withdrawn 
and the liquid will flow through the cannula and will be hastened by 
traction on the fore limbs. In the absence of the trocar and cannula, 
two or three of the first ribs may be cut from the breastbone, so that 
the hand may be introduced through the chest to puncture the dia- 
phragm with an embryotomy knife and allow an escape of the water. 
In some slighter cases a tardy delivery may take place without punc- 
ture, the liquid bulging forward into the chest as the abdomen is 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 179 

compressed in the pelvic passages. With a posterior presentation the 
abdomen may be punctured more easily either in the flank or with 
a trocar and cannula through the anus. 

GENERAL DROPSY OF THE CALF. 

This occurs from watery blood or disease of some internal organ, 
like the liver or kidney, and is recognized by the general puffed-up 
and rounded condition of the body, which pits everywhere on pres- 
sure but without crackling. If not too extreme a case, the calf may 
be extracted after it has been very generally punctured over the 
body, but usually the only resort is to extract it in pieces. (See 
" Embryotomy," p. 200.) 

SWELLING OF THE CALF WITH GAS. 

This is usually the result of the death and decomposition of the 
fetus when extraction has been delayed for a day or more after the 
escape of the waters. It is impossible to extract it whole, owing to 
its large size and the dry state of the skin of the calf, the membranes, 
and the wall of the womb. These dry surfaces stick with such tenac- 
ity that no attempt at traction leads to any advance of the calf out of 
the womb or into the passages. When the fetus is advanced the 
adherent womb advances with it, and when the strain is relaxed both 
recede to where they were at first. The condition may be helped 
somewhat by the free injection of oil into the womb, but it remains 
impossible to extract the enormously bloated body, and the only 
resort is to cut it in pieces and extract it by degrees. (See " Embryo- 
tomy," p. 200.) 

RIGID CONTRACTIONS OF MUSCLES. 

In the development of the calf, as in after life, the muscles are 
subject to cramps, and in certain cases given groups of muscles re- 
main unnaturally short, so that even the bones grow in a twisted and 
distorted way. In one case the head and neck are drawn round to 
one side and can not be straightened out, even the bones of the face 
and the nose being curved around to that side. In other cases the 
flexor muscles of the fore legs are so shortened that the knees are 
kept constantly bent and can not be extended by force. The bent 
neck may sometimes be sufficiently straightened for extraction by 
cutting across the muscles on the side to which it is turned, and the 
bent knees by cutting the cords on the back of the shank bones just 
below the knees. If this fails, there remains the resort of cutting 
off the distorted limbs or head. (See "Embryotomy," p. 200.) 

TUMORS OF THE CALF (INCLOSED OVUM). 

Tumors or new growths grow on the unborn calf as on the mature 
animal, and by increasing the diameter of the body render its prog- 



180 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ress through the passage of the pelvis impossible. Ill my experience 
with large, fleshy tumors of the abdomen, I have cut open the chest, 
removed the lungs and heart, cut through the diaphragm with the 
knife, and removed the tumor piecemeal by alternate tearing and 
cutting until the volume of the body was sufficiently reduced to pass 
through. Where this failed it would remain to cut off the anterior 
part of the body, removing as much of the chest as possible, and cut- 
ting freely through the diaphragm ; then, pushing back the remainder 
of the body, the hind limbs may be seized and brought into the pas- 
sages and the residue thus extracted. The tumor, unless very large, 
will get displaced backward so as not to prove an insuperable obstacle. 
In many cases the apparent tumor is a blighted ovum which has 
failed to develop, but has grafted itself on its more fortunate twin 
and from it has drawn its nourishment. These are usually sacs con- 
taining hair, skin, muscle, bone, or other natural tissues, and only 
exceptionally do they show the distinct outline of the animal. 

MONSTROSITY IN THE CALF. 

As a monstrous development in the calf may hinder calving, it is 
well to consider shortly the different directions in which these devi- 
ations from the natural form appear. Their origin and significance 
will be rendered clearer if we divide them according to the fault of 
development in individual cases. Monsters are such — 

(1) From absence of parts — absence of head, limb, or other or- 
gan — arrested development. 

(2) From some organ being unnaturally small, as a dwarfed head, 
limb, trunk, etc. — arrested development. 

(3) From unnatural division of parts — cleft lips, palate, head, 
trunk, limbs, etc. — abnormal growth. 

(4) From the absence of natural divisions — absence of mouth, nose, 
eye, anus ; the cloven foot of ox or pig becomes solid, like that of the 
horse, etc. — confluence of parts which are rightfully separate. 

(5) From the fusion of parts — both eyes replaced by central one, 
both nostrils merged into one central opening, etc. — confluence of 
parts. 

(6) From unnatural position or form of parts — curved nose, neck, 
back, limbs, etc. — lack of balance in the growth of muscles during 
development. 

(7) From excessive growth of one or more organs — enormous size 
of head, double penis, superfluous digits, etc. — redundancy of growth 
at given points. 

(8) From imperfect differentiation of the sexual organs — her- 
maphordites (organs intermediate betAveen male and female), male 
organs with certain feminine characters, female organs with certain 
well-marked male characters. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 181 

(9) From the doubling of parts or of the entire body — double 
monsters, doubled heads, doubled bodies, extra limbs, etc. — redundant 
development. (PI. XIX, figs. 1, 2, 3.) 

Causes. — The causes of monstrosities are varied. Some, like extra 
digits, lack of horns, etc., run in families, which produce them with 
absolute certainty when bred in the direct line, although they were 
originally acquired peculiarities which have merely been fixed by 
long habit in successive generations. The earliest horse had five toes, 
and even the most recent fossil horse had three toes, of which the 
two lateral ones are still represented in the modern animal by the two 
splint bones. Yet if our horse develops an extra toe it is pronounced 
a monstroshVy. A more genuine monstrosity is the solid-hoofed pig, 
in which two toes have been merged into one. Another of the same 
kind is the solid shank bone of the ox, which consists of two bones 
united into one, but which are still found apart in the early fetus. 
Though originally acquired peculiarities, they now breed as invari- 
ably as color or form. 

Other monstrosities seem to have begun in too close breeding, by 
which the powers of symmetrical development are impaired, just as 
the procreative power weakens under continuous breeding from the 
closest blood relations. A monstrosity consisting in the absence of 
an organ often depends on a simple lack of development, the result 
of disease or injury, as a young bone is permanently shortened by 
being broken across the soft part between the shaft and the end, the 
only part where increase in length can take place. As the result of 
the injury the soft, growing layer becomes prematurely hard and 
all increase in length at that end of the bone ceases. This will ac- 
count for some cases of absence of eye, limb, or other organ. 

Sometimes a monstrosity is owing to the inclosure of one ovum in 
another while the latter is still but a soft mass of cells and can easily 
close around the first. Here each ovum has an independent life; 
they develop simultaneously, only the outer one having direct con- 
nection with the womb and being furnished with abundant nourish- 
ment advances most rapidly and perfectly, while the inclosed and 
starved ovum is dwarfed and imperfect often to the last degree. 

In many cases of excess of parts the extra part or member is mani- 
festly derived from the same ovum, and even the same part of the 
ovum, being merely the effect of a redundancy and vagary of growth. 
Such cases include most instances of extra digits or other organs, and 
even of double monsters, as manifested by the fact that such extra 
organs grow from the normal identical organs. Hence the extra 
digit is attached to the normal digit, the extra head to the one neck, 
the extra tail to the croup, extra teeth to the existing teeth, and 
even two similarly formed bodies are attached by some point com- 
mon to both, as the navels, breastbones, back, etc. (PI. XIX, figs. 



182 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

1, 2; 3.) This shows that both have been derived from the same 
primitive layer of the embryo, which possessed the plastic power of 
building up a given structure or set of organs. An inclosed ovum, 
on the other hand, has no such identity or similarity of structure to 
the part with which it is connected, showing an evident primary 
independence of both life and the power of building tissues and 
organs. The power of determining extra growth along a given 
natural line is very highly developed in the early embryo and is 
equally manifest in the mature examples of some of the lower forms 
of animal life. Thus a newt will grow a new tail when that member 
has been cut off, and a starfish will develop as many new starfishes 
as the pieces made by cutting up the original one. This power of 
growth in the embryo and in the lower form of animals is compa- 
rable to the branching out again of a tree at the places from which 
branches have been lopped. The presence of this vegetablelike 
power of growth in the embryo accounts for most double monsters. 

The influence of disease in modifying growth in the early embryo, 
increasing, decreasing, distorting, etc., is well illustrated in the 
experiments of St. Hilaire and Valentine in varnishing, shaking, or 
otherwise disturbing the connections of eggs and thereby producing 
monstrosities. One can easily understand how inflammations and 
other causes of disturbed circulation in the womb, fetal membranes, 
or fetus would cause similar distortions and variations in the grow- 
ing offspring. It is doubtless largely in the same way that certain 
mental disturbances of a very susceptible dam affect the appearance 
of the progeny. The monstrosities which seriously interfere with 
calving are mainly such as consist in extra members or head, which 
can not be admitted into the passages at the same time, where some 
organ of the body has attained extra size, where a blighted ovum 
has been inclosed in the body of a more perfect one, or where the 
body or limbs are so contracted or twisted that the calf must enter 
the passages doubled up. 

Treatment. — Extraction is sometimes possible by straightening the 
distorted members by the force of traction ; in other cases the muscles 
or tendons must be cut across on the side to which the body or limbs 
are bent to allow of such straightening. Thus, the muscles on the 
concave side of a wry neck or the cords behind the shank bones of a 
contracted limb may be cut to allow of these parts being brought 
into the passages, and there will still be wanting the methods de- 
manded for bringing up missing limbs or head, for which see para- 
graphs below. In most cases of monstrosity by excess of overgrowth 
it becomes necessary to cut off the supernumerary or overdeveloped 
parts, and in this same general principles must be followed as laid 
down in " Embryotomy " (p. 200). 






DISEASES OF THE GENEKATIVE OEGANS. 
WRONG PRESENTATIONS OF THE CALF. 

The following is a list of abnormal presentations of the calf 



183 



Fore limbs. 



Head. 



Simultaneous presentation of twins. 

Limbs curved at the knee. Flexor tendons shortened. 

Limb crossed over the back of the neck. 

Limb bent back at the knee. 

Limb bent back from the shoulder. 

Head bent downward on the neck. 

Head and neck turned downward beneath the breast. 

Head turned to one side upon the side of the neck. 

Head and neck turned back on the side of the chest and 

abdomen. 
Head turned upward and backward on the back. 
Hind imbs rotated outward. Toes and stifles turned out- 
ward. 
[Hind limbs bent forward, their feet resting in the pelvis. 

Transverse Back of the calf turned to the right or left side. 

Inverted Back of the calf turned to the floor of the pelvis and udder. 

I Hind limb bent on itself at the hock. Hock and buttocks 
present. 
Hind limb bent at the hips. Buttocks present. 

Transverse Back of calf turned to the right or left side. 

Inverted Back of calf turned to the floor of the pelvis and udder. 

Head up toward the spine, 



Hind limbs. 



'Gj c3 



o S> 

P-i Q> 



Back and loins 
presented. 



Position of calf vertical. 



Position of calf transverse 



Breast and abdo- 
men presented. I 



I Position of calf transverse 



croup toward udder. 
Head down toward udder, 

croup toward spine. 
Head toward the right side, 

croup toward the left. 
Head' toward the left side, 

croup toward the right. 
Head toward right side, 

croup toward left. 
Head toward left side, croup 

toward right. 



These include all general presentations, yet other subsidiary ones 
will at once occur to the attentive reader. Thus, in each anterior or 
posterior presentation, with the back of the calf turned downward or 
to one side, the case may be complicated by the bending back of one 
or more members as a whole or at the joint just above the shank 
bones (knee or hock). So also in such anterior presentation the head 
may be turned back. 



184 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Head and fore feet presented — Back turned to one side. — The calf 
has a greater diameter from above down (spine to breastbone) than 
it has from side to side, and the same is true of the passage of the 
pelvis of the cow, which measures, on an average, 8 T 7 o inches from 
above downward and 7 T ^ inches from side to side. Hence the calf 
passes most easily with its back upward, and when turned with its 
back to one side calving is always tardy and may be difficult or im- 
possible. The obvious remedy is to rotate the calf on its own axis 
until its spine turns toward the spine of the cow. The operation is 
not difficult if the body of the calf is not yet fixed in the passages. 
The presenting feet are twisted over each other in the direction 
desired, and this is continued until the head and spine have assumed 
their proper place. If the body is firmly engaged in the passages the 
skin of the whole engaged portion should be freely lubricated with 
lard, and the limbs and head twisted over each other as above. The 
limbs may be twisted by an assistant Avhen the head is manipulated 
by the operator, who drags on the rope turned halfway round the 
limbs and assists in the rotation with his other hand in the passages. 

Head and fore feet presented — Bach turned down toward the 
udder. — This position (PL XVI, fig. 6) is unnatural, and the parturi- 
tion is difficult for two reasons: First, the natural curvature of the 
fetus is opposed to the natural curvature of the passages; and, second, 
the thickest part of the body of the calf (the upper) is engaged in 
the narrowest part of the passage of the pelvis (the lower). Yet 
unless the calf is especially large and the pelvis of the cow narrow, 
parturition may usually be accomplished in this way spontaneously 
or with very little assistance in the way of traction on the limbs. If 
this can not be accomplished, two courses are open : First, to rotate 
the calf as when the back is turned to one side ; second, to push back 
the presenting fore limbs and head and search for and bring up the 
hind limbs, when the presentation will be a natural, posterior one. 

Presentation of the hind feet with the back turned to one side or 
downward. — These are the exact counterparts of the two conditions 
last described, are beset with similar drawbacks, and are to be dealt 
with on the same general principles. (PL XVII, fig. 4.) With the 
back turned to one side the body should be rotated until the back 
turns toward the spine of the dam, and with the back turned clown 
it must be extracted in that position (care being taken that the feet 
do not perforate the roof of the vagina) or it must be rotated on its 
own axis until the back turns upward, or the hind limbs must be 
pushed back and the fore limbs and head advanced, when the pres- 
entation will be a natural anterior one. " 

Impaction of twins in the passage. — It is very rare to have twins 
enter the passages together so as to become firmly impacted. As a 
rule, each of the twins has its own separate membranes, and as the 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 185 

water bags of one will naturally first enter and be the first to burst, 
so the calf which occupied those membranes will be the first to enter 
the passage and the other will be thereby excluded. When the 
membranes of both have burst without either calf having become 
engaged in the pelvis, it becomes possible for the fore legs of one 
and the hind legs of the other to enter at one time, and if the strain- 
ing is very violent they may become firmly impacted. (PI. XVIII, 
fig. 1.) The condition may be recognized by the fact that two of the 
presenting feet have their fronts turned forward, while the two 
others have their fronts turned backward. If the four feet belonged 
to one natural calf, they would all have the same direction. By means 
of this difference in direction we can easily select the two feet of one 
calf, place running nooses upon them just above the hoofs or fet- 
locks, and have an assistant drag upon the ropes while the feet of the 
other calf are pushed back. In selecting one of the twins to come 
first several considerations should have weight. The one that is most 
advanced in the passage is, of course, the first choice. Though the 
fore feet of one are presented, yet if the head is not in place the calf 
presenting by its hind feet is to be chosen as being less liable to 
obstruct. Again, if for either calf one limb only is presented and 
the other missing, the one presenting two feet should be selected 
to come first. As soon as one calf has been advanced so as to occupy 
the pelvis the other will be crowded back so that it will not seriously 
obstruct. 

Fore limbs curved at the knee — Limbs spreading outward. — In 
this case not only are the knees somewhat bent in a curve, but the 
calf has a position as if it rested on its breastbone, while the legs 
were drawn apart and directed to the right and left. The shoulder 
blades being drawn outward from the chest and the elbows turned 
out, the muscles extending from the trunk to the limb are unduly 
stretched and keep the knees bent and the feet directed outward so 
as to press on the sides of the passages. They become retarded in 
their progress as compared with the more rapidly advancing head, 
and may bruise or even lacerate the walls of the vagina. It would 
seem easy to rectify this by extending the legs, but the already tense 
and overstretched muscles operate against extension in the present 
position, and it is not easy to rotate the limbs so as to apply the 
shoulder flat against the side of the chest. Under these circumstances 
a repeller (PL XX, fig. 7) may be planted in the breast and the body 
of the calf pushed backward into the womb, when the limbs will 
extend easily under traction and the presentation becomes at once 
natural. 

Fore limbs curved at knee — Flexor tendons shortening. — In this 
case the feet will press against the floor of the pelvis though the 
limb has no outward direction, and the shoulder meanwhile presses 



186 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

against the roof of the same passage. Unless the knees can be suffi- 
ciently straightened by force a knife must be used to cut across the 
cords behind the knee, when the limbs may be straightened suffi- 
ciently. 

Fore limbs flexed at knee — Flexor tendons unshortened. — This is 
mostly seen in cases in which the body of the calf is in the proper 
position, its back being turned up toward the back of the dam, and in 
cows with a drooping abdomen. The feet have been supposed to 
catch beneath the brim of the pelvis, and being retarded while the 
head advances into the passages, they get bent at the knee and the 
nose and knees present. (PI. XVI, fig. 2.) The calf , however, is not 
an inanimate body advanced by the mere contraction of the womb, 
but it moves its limbs freely under the stimulus of the unwonted com- 
pression, and in moving the feet as they are advanced they slip down 
over the pelvic brim and finding no other firm support they bend 
back until, under the impulsion, they can no longer straighten out 
again. The knees, therefore, advance with the neck and head, but the 
feet remain bent back. The result is that the upper part of the limb 
is also flexed, and the shoulder blade and arm bone with their masses 
of investing muscles are carried backward and applied on the side of 
the chest, greatly increasing the bulk of this already bulky part. As 
the elbow is carried back on the side of the chest, the forearm from 
elbow to knee further increases the superadded masses of the shoulder 
and renders it difficult or impossible to drag the mass through the 
passages. When the fore limbs are fully extended, on the contrary, 
the shoulder blade is extended forward on the smallest and narrowest 
part of the chest, the arm bone with its muscles is in great part ap- 
plied against the side of the back part of the neck, and the forearm is 
continued forward by the side of the head so that the nose lies be- 
tween the knees. In this natural presentation the presenting body 
of the calf forms a long wedge or cone, the increase of which is slow 
and gradual until it reaches the middle of the chest. 

The difficulty of extending the fore limbs will be in proportion to 
the advance of the head through the pelvic cavity. In the early stage 
all that is necessary may be to introduce the oiled hand, the left one 
for the right leg or the right one for the left, and passing the hand 
from the knee on to the foot to seize the foot in the palm, bend it 
forcibly on the fetlock, and lift it up over the brim of the pelvis, the 
knee being, of cpurse, pressed upward against the spine. As soon as 
the foot has been raised above the brim of the pelvis (into the pas- 
sage) the limb can be straightened out with the greatest ease. 

When, however, the shoulders are already engaging in the pelvis 
the feet can not thus be lifted up, and to gain room a repeller (PL 
XX, fig. 7) must be used to push back the body of the calf. This is 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 187 

an instrument with a long, straight stem, divided at the end into two 
short branches (2 to 3 inches long) united to the stem by hinges so 
that they can be brought into a line with the stem for introduction 
into the womb and then spread to be implanted in the breast. In the 
absence of a repeller a smooth, round, fork handle may be used, the 
prongs having been removed from the other end. A third device is 
to have an assistant strip his arm to the shoulder and, standing back 
to back with the operator, to introduce his right arm into the passages 
along with the operator's left (or vice versa) and push back the body 
of the calf while the operator seeks to bring up a limb. The repeller 
or staff having been planted safely in the breast of the calf, an assist- 
ant pushes upon it in a direction either forward or slightly upward, 
so as not only to follow the natural curve of the body and favor its 
turning in the line of that curve within the womb, but also to carry 
the shoulders upward toward the spine and obtain more room for 
bringing up the missing feet. It is good policy, first, to put a halter 
(PI. XXI, figs. 4« and 45) on the head or a noose (PI. XXI, fig 3) 
on the lower jaw and a rope round each limb at the knee, so as to 
provide against the loss of any of these parts when the body is pushed 
back into the womb. This offers the further advantage that by drag- 
ging upon these ropes the body can be advanced in the passage until 
the foot is reached, when the rope must be slackened and the repeller 
used to get room for bringing up the foot. If the cow is lying, 
the operator should first secure the foot on the upper side and then, if 
necessary, turn the cow on its opposite side so as to bring up the other. 

In using the instruments some precautions are demanded. They 
must be invariably warmed before they are introduced, and they 
should be smeared with lard or oil to make them pass easily and with- 
out friction. The assistant who is pushing on the instrument must 
be warned to stop if at any time resistance gives way. This may 
mean the turning of the fetus, in which case the object of repulsion 
has been accomplished, but much more probably it implies the dis- 
placement of the instrument from the body of the fetus, and un- 
guarded pressure may drive it through the walls of the womb. 

When the calf enters the passage with its back turned down toward 
the belly and udder, the bending back of the fore limbs is rare, prob- 
ably because the feet can find a straighter and more nearly uniform 
surface of resistance in the upper wall of the womb and the backbone, 
and do not slide over a crest into an open cavity, as they do over the 
brim of the pelvis. The weight o fthe calf, too, gravitating down- 
ward, leaves more room for the straightening of the bent limbs, so 
that the desired relief is much more easily secured. The manipula- 
tion is the same in principle, only one must add the precaution of a 
steady traction on the feet in extraction, lest, owing to the adverse 



188 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

curvature of the fetus, the hoofs are suddenly forced through the 
roof of the vagina, and, perhaps, the rectum as well, during a spe- 
cially powerful labor pain. 

When the back of the calf is turned to the right side or the left the 
main difference is that in addition to straightening the limbs the fetus 
must be rotated to turn its back upward before extraction is at- 
tempted. In this case, too, it may be difficult to bring up and 
straighten the lower of the two limbs until the body has been rotated 
into its proper position. Cord the upper straightened limb and head, 
then rotate the body and search for the second missing limb. 

Fore limbs bent bach from the shoulders. — This is an exaggeration 
of the condition just named, and is much more difficult to remedy, 
owing to the distance and inaccessibility of the missing limb. It 
usually happens with the proper position of the body, the back of the 
calf being turned toward the back of the mother. The head presents 
in the passage and may even protrude from the vulva during an 
active labor pain, but it starts back like a spring when the straining 
ceases. Examination with the oiled hands in the intervals between 
the pains fails to detect the missing limbs. (PI. XVI, fig. 1.) If, 
however, the hand can be introduced during a pain it may be possible 
to reach the elbow or upper part of the forearm. In the absence of a 
pain a halter or noose on the head may be used to advance the whole 
body until the forearm can be seized just below the elbow. This 
being firmly held and the head or body pushed back into the womb, 
room may be obtained for bringing up the knee. The forearm is 
used as a lever, its upper part being strongly forced back while its 
lower part is pressed forward. If a pain supervenes the hold must 
be retained, and whatever gain has been made must be held if pos- 
sible. Then during the next pain, by pushing back the body and con- 
tinuing to operate the forearm as a lever, a still further advance may 
be made. As the knee is brought up in this way, the hand is slid 
down from the elbow toward the knee, which is finally brought up 
over the brim of the pelvis and into the passage. It is now corded 
at the knee, and the subsequent procedure is as described in the last 
article. In a large, roomy cow with a small calf the latter may pass 
with one or both forelegs bent back, but this is a very exceptional 
case, and, as early assistance is the most successful, there should never 
be delay in hope of such a result. 

One fore limb crossed over the back of the neck. — This is a rare 
obstacle to calving, but one that not altogether unknown. The hand 
introduced into the passage feels the head and one forefoot, and 
farther back on the same side of the other foot, from which the womb 
can be traced obliquely across the back of the neck. (PI. XVI, 
fig. 3.) This foot, projecting transversely, is liable to bruise or tear 
the vagina. If still deeply engaged in the vagina, it may be seized 



DISEASES OP THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 189 

and pushed across to the opposite side of the neck, when the presenta- 
tion will be natural. 

Bead bent down beneath the neck. — In this case, with drooping 
belly and womb allowing the brim of the pelvis to form a ridge, 
the advancing calf, having unduly depressed its nose, strikes it on 
the brim of the pelvis, and the neck advancing, the head is bent back 
and the poll and ears either enter the pelvis or strike against its 
brim. The two forefeet present, but they make no progress, and the 
oiled hand introduced can detect no head until the poll is felt at the 
entrance of the pelvis, between the forearms. The two forefeet 
must be fixed with running nooses and dragged on moderately while 
the oiled hand seeks to bring up the head. The hand is slid down 
over the forehead and brim of the pelvis until the nose is reached, 
when it is passed into the mouth, the muzzle resting in the palm of 
the hand. The legs are now pushed upon, and in the space thus 
gained the muzzle is drawn up so as to enter it into the pelvis. In 
doing this the operator must carefully see that the mouth does not 
drop open so that the sharp, front teeth cut through the floor of 
the womb. Should this danger threaten, the hand should be made 
to cover the lower jaw as well. The lessened security of the hold 
is more than compensated by the safety of the procedure. With 
the nose in the pelvis, it has only to be drawn forward and the par- 
turition is natural. 

Head bent down beneath the breast. — This is an exaggerated con- 
dition of that last named. The head, arrested by the brim of the 
pelvis and already bent back on the neck, is pressed farther with 
each successive throe until it has passed between the forelegs and 
lodges beneath the breast bone. (PL XVI, fig. 4.) On examina- 
tion, the narrow upper border of the neck is felt between the fore- 
arms, but as a rule the head is out of reach below. Keeping the 
hand on the neck and dragging on the feet by the aid of ropes, the 
hand may come to touch and seize the ear, or, still better, one or two 
fingers may be inserted into the orbit of the eye. 

Then in pushing back upon the limbs, with or without the aid of 
a repeller applied against the shoulder, space may be obtained to 
draw the head into a vertical position, and even to slip the hand 
down so as to seize the nose. Should it prove impossible to draw the 
head up with the unassisted fingers, a blunt hook (PI. XXI, fig. 6) 
may be inserted into the orbit, on which an assistant may drag while 
another pushes upon the limbs or repeller. Meanwhile the operator 
may secure an opportunity of reaching and seizing the nose or of 
passing a blunt hook into the angle of the mouth. Success will be 
better assured if two hooks (PI. XXI, fig. 7) are inserted in the two 
orbits, so as to draw up the head more evenly. In other cases a noose 
may be placed on the upper jaw, or even around both jaws, and trac- 



190 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

tion made upon this and on the hooks in the orbits while the legs are 
pushed back, and while the operator pushes back on the poll or fore- 
head. In still more difficult cases, in which even the orbits can not 
be reached, a sharp hook on the end of a straight iron rod (PL XX, 
fig. 2) may be inserted over the lower jaw as far forward as it can be 
reached, and by dragging upon this while the body is pushed back 
the head will be brought up sufficiently to allow the operator to reach 
the orbit or nose. If even the jaw can not be reached, the hook may 
be inserted in the neck as near to the head as possible and traction 
employed so as to bring the head within reach. 

In all such cases the cow's head should be turned downhill, and in 
case of special difficulty she should be turned on her back and held 
there until the head is secured. In old-standing cases, with the womb 
closely clasping the body of the calf, relaxation may be sought by the 
use of chloroform or a full dose of chloral hydrate — 2 ounces; the 
free injection of warm water into the womb will also be useful. 

Head turned hack on the shoulder. — With a natural, anterior pre- 
sentation this may happen because of the imperfect dilation of the 
mouth of the womb. Under the throes of the mother the forefeet 
pass through the narrow opening into the vagina, while the nose, 
striking against it and unable to enter, is pressed backward into the 
womb and turns aside on the right or left shoulder. The broad 
muzzle of the calf forms an especial obstacle to entrance and favors 
this deviation of the head. The worst form of this deviation is the 
old standing one with shortening of the muscles of the neck on that 
side, and oftentimes distortion of the face and neck bones, as noticed 
under "Monstrosities" (p. 180). 

When the head is bent on the shoulder the feet appear in the natural 
way, but no progress is made, and examination reveals the absence of 
the nose from between the knees, and farther back, from above and 
between the elbows, a smooth rounded mass is felt extending to the 
right or left, which further examination will identify with the neck. 
Following the upper border of this the hand reaches the crown of 
the head with the ears, and still further the eyes, or even, in a small 
calf, the nose. 

As the bulky head of the calf can not be extracted along with the 
shoulders, it becomes necessary to push the body of the fetus back and 
straighten out the head and neck. The cow should be laid with her 
head downhill and with that side up toward which the head is turned. 
If the throes are very violent, or the womb strongly contracted on the 
calf, it may be best to seek relaxation by giving chloroform, or 2 
ounces of laudanum, or 2 ounces of chloral hydrate. If the calf or 
the passages are dry, sweet oil may be injected, or the whole may be 
liberally smeared with fresh lard. In the absence of these, warm 
water rendered slightly slippery by Castile soap may be injected into 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 191 

the womb in quantity. Ropes with running nooses are placed on the 
presenting feet and the oiled hand introduced to find the head. If, 
now, the fingers can be passed inside the lower jawbone, and drag the 
head upward and toward the passage, it unwinds the spiral turn given 
to the neck in bending back, and greatly improves the chances of 
bringing forward the nose. If, at first, or if now, the lower jaw can 
be reached, a noose should be placed around it behind the incisor 
teeth and traction made upon this, so that the head may continue to 
be turned, forehead up, toward the spine and jaws down, thereby 
continuing to undo the screw-like curve of the neck. If, on the con- 
trary, the nose is dragged upon by a cord passing over the upper 
border of the neck, the screwlike twist is increased and the resistance 
of the bones and joints of the neck prevents any straightening of the 
head. As soon as the lower jaw has been seized by the hand or 
noose, a repeller (PL XX, fig. 7), planted on the inside of the elbow 
or shoulder most distant from the head, should be used to push back 
the body and turn it in the womb, so that the head may be brought 
nearer to the outlet. In this way the head can usually be brought 
into position and the further course of delivery will be natural. 

Sometimes, however, the lower jaw can not be reached with the 
hand, and then the orbit or, less desirably, the ear, may be availed of. 
The ear may be pulled by the hand, and by the aid of the repeller on 
the other shoulder the calf may be so turned that the lower jaw may 
be reached and availed of. Better still, a clamp (PI. XVIII, figs. 3 
and 4) is firmly fixed on the ear and pulled by a rope, while the re- 
peller is used on the opposite shoulder, and the hand of the operator 
pulls on the lower border of the neck and lifts it toward the other 
side. To pull on the upper border of the neck is to increase the spiral 
twist, while to raise the lower border is to undo it. If the outer 
orbit can be reached, the fingers may be inserted into it so as to em- 
ploy traction, or a blunt finger hook (PI. XXI, fig. 8) may be used, 
or a hook with a rope attached, or, finally, a hook on the end of a 
long staff. Then, with the assistance of the repeller, the body may 
be so turned and the head advanced that the lower jaw may be 
reached and availed of. 

In case neither the ears nor the orbit can be reached, a cord should 
be passed around the neck of the calf as near the head as possible, 
and traction made upon that while the opposite shoulder is pushed 
toward the opposite side by the repeller, assisted by the hand drag- 
ging on the lower border of the neck. To aid the hand in passing a 
rope around the neck a cord carrier (PL XXI, fig. 5) is in use. It 
fails, however, to help us in the most difficult part of the operation — 
the passing of the cord down on the deep or farthest side of the 
neck — and to remed}' this I have devised a cord carrier, furnished 
with a ring at the end, a joint 6 or 8 inches from the end, and another 



192 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ring on the handle, close to this joint. (PI. XX, fig. 4.) A cord is 
passed through both rings and a knot tied on its end, just back of the 
terminal ring. The instrument, straightened out, is inserted until it 
reaches just bej^ond the upper border of the neck, when, by dragging 
on the cord, the movable segment is bent down on the farther side of 
the neck, and is pushed on until it can be felt at its lower border. 
The hand now seizes the knotted end of the cord beneath the lower 
border of the neck and pulls it through while the carrier is with- 
drawn, the cord sliding through its rings. The cord, pushed up as 
near to the head as possible, is furnished with a running noose by 
tying the knotted end round the other, or, better, the two ends are 
twisted around each other so as to give a firm hold on the neck with- 
out dangerously compressing the blood vessels. By pushing on the 
opposite shoulder with the repeller, and assisting with the hand on 
shoulder, breastbone, or lower border of the neck, such a change of 
position will be secured as will speedily bring the head within reach. 
Afterwards proceed as described above. 

These cases are always trying, but it is very rarely necessary to 
resort to embryotomy. When absolutely required, first remove one 
fore limb, and then, if still unsuccessful, the other, after which the 
head can easily be secured. (See " Embryotomy," p. 200.) 

II fad turned upward and backward. — In this case the face rests 
upon the spine ; the forefeet appear alone in the passage, but fail to 
advance, and on examination the rounded, inferior border of the 
neck can be felt, extending upward and backward beneath the spine 
of the dam, and if the calf is not too large the hand may reach the 
lower jaw or even the muzzle. (PI. XVI, fig. 5.) A repeller is 
planted in the breast and the body of the calf pushed backward and 
downward so as to make room and bring the head nearer to the 
passage; or in some cases the body may be pushed back sufficiently 
by the use of the forelimbs alone. Meanwhile the head is seized by 
the ear or the eye socket, or, if it can be reached, by the lower jaw, 
and pulled downward into position as space is obtained for it. If 
the hand alone is insufficient, the blunt hooks may be inserted in the 
orbits or in the angle of the mouth, or a noose may be placed on the 
lower jaw, and by traction the head will be easily advanced. In case 
of a large fetus, the head of which is beyond reach, even when trac- 
tion is made on the limbs, a rope may be passed around the neck and 
pulled, while the breastbone is pressed downward and backward by 
the repeller, and soon the change of position will bring the orbit or 
lower jaw within reach. With the above described position the 
standing position is most favorable for success, but if the calf is 
placed with its back down toward the udder, and if the head is bent 
down under the brim of the pelvis, the best position for the cow is 
on her back, with her head downhill. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 193 

In neglected cases, with death and putrefaction of the fetus and 
dryness of the passages, it may be necessary to extract in pieces. (See 
"Embryotomy," p. 200.) 

Outward direction of the stifles — Abduction of hind limbs. — As an 
obstacle to parturition, this is rare in cows. It is most liable to 
take place in cows with narrow hip bones, and when the service has 
been made by a bull having great breadth across the quarter. The 
calf, taking after the sire, presents an obstacle to calving in the 
breadth of its quarters, and if at the same time the toes and stifles 
are turned excessively outward and the hocks inward the combined 
breadth of the hip bones above and the stifles below may be so great 
that the pelvis will not easily admit them. After the forefeet, head, 
and shoulders have all passed out through the vulva, further progress 
suddenly and unaccountably ceases, and some dragging on the parts 
already delivered does not serve to bring away the hind parts. The 
oiled hand introduced along the side of the calf will discover the 
obstacle in the stifle joints turned directly outward and projecting 
on each side beyond the bones which circumscribe laterally the front 
entrance of the pelvis. The evident need is to turn the stifles in- 
ward ; this may be attempted by the hand introduced by the side of 
the calf, which is meanwhile rotated gently on its own axis to favor 
the change of position. To correct the deviation of the hind limb is, 
however, very difficult, as the limbs themselves are out of reach and 
can not be used as levers to assist. If nothing can be done by push- 
ing the body of the calf back and rotating it and by pressure by the 
hand in the passages, the only resort appears to be to skin the calf 
from the shoulder back, cut it in two as far back as can be reached, 
then push the buttocks well forward into the womb, bring up the 
hind feet, and so deliver. 

Hind limbs excessively bent on the body and engaged in the pel- 
vis. — In this case the presentation is apparently a normal, anterior 
one; forelimbs and head advance naturally and the parturition pro- 
ceeds until half the chest has passed through the external passages, 
when suddenly progress ceases and no force will effect farther ad- 
vance. An examination with the oiled hand detects the presence, in 
the passages, of the hind feet and usually the hind legs up to above 
the hocks. (PI. XVII, fig. 1.) 

The indications for treatment are to return the hind limbs into 
the body of the womb. If they have not advanced too far into the 
pelvis, this may be done as follows: A rope with running noose is 
passed over each hind foot and drawn tight around the lower part of 
the hock ; the ropes are then passed through the two rings in the small 
end of the rotating instrument (PI. XX, fig. 5) which is slid into the 
passages until it reaches the hocks, when the ropes, drawn tight, are 
33071°— 16 13 



194 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

tied around the handle of the instrument. Then in the intervals 
between the pains the hocks are pushed forcibly back into the womb. 
If by this means flexion can be effected in hocks and stifles, success 
will follow ; the hind feet will pass into the womb and clear of the 
brim of the pelvis and the body may now be advanced without 
hindrance, the hind limbs falling into place when the hip joints are 
extended. At the same time the pressure upon hind limbs must not 
be relaxed until the buttocks are engaged in the pelvis, as otherwise 
the feet may again get over the brim and arrest the progress of 
delivery. 

When the hind limbs are already so jammed into the pelvis that 
it is impossible to return them, the calf must be sacrificed to save the 
mother. Cords with running nooses are first put on the two hind 
feet. The body must be skinned from the shoulders back as far as 
can be reached, and is to be then cut in two, if possible, back of the 
last rib. The remainder of the trunk is now pushed back into the 
body of the womb and by traction upon the cords the hind feet are 
brought up into the passages and the extraction will be compara- 
tively easy. 

Hind presentation with one or both legs bent at the hock. — After 
the bursting of the water bags, though labor pains continue, no part 
of the fetus appears at the vulva unless it be the end of the tail. 
On examination the buttocks are felt wedged against the spine at 
the entrance of the pelvis and beneath them the bent hock joints 
resting on the brim of the pelvis below. (PI. XVII, fig. 3.) The 
calf has been caught by the labor pains while the limb was bent 
beneath it and has been jammed into or against the rim of the pelvis, 
so that extension of the limb became impossible. With the thigh 
bent on the flank, the leg on the thigh, and the shank on the leg, and 
all at once wedged into the passage, delivery is practically impos- 
sible. 

The obvious remedy is to push the croup upward and forward and 
extend the hind legs, and in the early stages this can usually be ac- 
complished in the cow. A repeller (PL XX, fig. 7) is planted across 
the thighs and pointed upward toward the spine of the cow and 
pushed forcibly in this direction during the intervals between labor 
pains. Meanwhile the oiled hand seizes the shank just below the 
hock and uses it as a lever, pushing the body back and drawing the 
foot forward, thus effectually seconding the action of the repeller. 
Soon a distinct gain is manifest, and as soon as the foot can be 
reached it is bent back strongly at the fetlock, held in the palm of 
the hand, and pulled up, while the repeller, pressing on the buttocks, 
assists to make room for it. In this way the foot may be brought 
safely and easily over the brim of the pelvis without any risk of lac- 
eration of the womb of the foot. After the foot has been lifted over 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 195 

the brim, the whole limb can be promptly and easily extended. In 
cases presenting special difficulty in raising the foot over the brim, 
help may be had by traction on a rope passed around in front of the 
hock, and later still by a rope with a noose fastened to the pastern. 
In the worst cases, with the buttocks and hocks wedged deeply into 
the passages, it may prove difficult or impossible to push the buttocks 
back into the abdomen, and in such case the extension of the hind 
limb is practically impossible without mutilation. In some roomy 
cows a calf may be dragged through the passages by ropes attached 
to the bent hocks, but even when this is possible there is great risk of 
laceration of the floor of the vagina by the feet. The next resort is 
to cut the hamstring just above the point of the hock and the tendon 
on the front of the limb (flexor metatarsi) just above the hock, and 
even the sinews behind the shank bone just below the hock. This 
allows the stifle and hock to move independently of each other, the 
one undergoing extension without entailing the extension of the 
other; it also allows both joints to flex completely, so that the im- 
pacted mass can pass through a narrower channel. If now, by drag- 
ging on the hocks and operating with the repeller on the buttocks, 
the latter can be tilted forward sufficiently to allow of the extension 
of the stifle, the jam will be at once overcome, and the calf may be 
extracted with the hock bent, but the stifle extended. If even this 
can not be accomplished, it may now be possible to extract the whole 
mass with both hocks and stifles fully bent. To attempt this, trac- 
tion may be made on the rope around the hocks and on a sharp hook 
(PI. XX, fig. 2) passed forward between the thighs and hooked on to 
the brim of the pelvis. Everything else failing, the offending limb 
or limbs may be cut off at the hip joint and extracted, after which 
extraction may proceed by dragging on the remaining limb, or by 
hooks on the hip bones. Very little is to be gained by cutting off the 
limb at the hock, and the stifle is less accessible than the hip, and 
amputation of the stifle gives much poorer results. 

Hind limbs bent forward from the hip — Breech presentation. — 
This is an exaggeration of the condition last described, only the 
hocks and stifles are fully extended and the whole limb carried for- 
ward beneath the belly. (PL XVII, fig. 2.) The water bags appear 
and burst, but nothing presents unless it may be the tail. Examina- 
tion in this case detects the outline of the buttocks, with the tail and 
anus at its upper part. 

The remedy, as in the case last described, consists in pushing the 
buttock upward and forward with a repeller, the cow being kept 
standing and headed downhill until the thigh bone can be reached 
and used as a lever. Its upper end is pushed forward and its lower 
end raised until, the joints becoming fully flexed, the point of the 
hock can be raised above the brim of the pelvis. If necessary a noose 



196 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

may be passed around the leg as far down toward the hock as possible 
and pulled on forcibly, while the hand presses forward strongly on 
the back of the leg above. When both hocks have been lodged above 
the brim of the pelvis the further procedure is as described under the 
last heading. 

If, however, the case is advanced and the buttocks wedged firmly 
into the passages, it may be impossible safely to push the fetus back 
into the womb, and the calf must either be dragged through the pas- 
sage as it is or the limbs or the pelvis must be cut off. To extract 
successfully with a breech presentation the cow must be large and 
roomy and the calf not too large. The first step in this case is to 
separate the pelvic bones on the two sides by cutting from before 
backward, exactly in the median line below and where the thighs 
come together above. This may be done with a strong embryotomy 
knife, but is most easily accomplished with the long embryotome 
(PL XX, fig. 3). The form which I have designed (PI. XX, fig. 1), 
with a short cutting branch jointed to the main stem, is to be pre- 
ferred, as the short cutting piece may be folded on the main stem so 
that its cutting edge will be covered, and it can be introduced and 
extracted without danger. This is pushed forward beneath the calf's 
belly, and the cutting arm opened, inserted in front of the brim of 
the pelvis and pulled forcibly back through the whole length of the 
pelvic bones. The divided edges are now made to overlap each other 
and the breadth of the haunch is materially reduced. One end of the 
cord may then be passed forward by means of a cord carrier (PL 
XXI, fig. 5) on the inner side of one thigh until it can be seized at 
the stifle by the hand passed forward on the outer side of that thigh. 
This end is now pulled back through the vagina, the other end 
passed through the cord carrier and passed forward on the inner side 
of the other thigh until it can be seized at the stifle by the hand 
passed forward outside that thigh. This end is drawn back through 
the vagina like the first, and is tied around the other so as to form a 
running noose. The rope is now drawn through the ring until it 
forms a tight loop, encircling the belly just in front of the hind 
limbs. On this strong traction can be made without interfering 
with the full flexion of the limbs on the body, and if the case is a 
suitable one, and the body of the fetus and the passages are both 
well lubricated with oil or lard, a successful parturition may be ac- 
complished. A less desirable method is to put a rope around one 
thigh or a rope around each and drag upon these, but manifestly 
the strain is not so directly on the spine, and the limbs may be 
somewhat hampered in flexion. 

This method being inapplicable, the next resort is to cut off one or 
both hind limbs at the hip joint. Free incisions are made on the side 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 197 

of the haunch so as to expose the hip joint, and the muscles are cut 
away from the head of the thigh bone down to its narrow neck, 
around which a rope is passed and firmly fixed with a running noose. 
The joint is now cut into all around, and while traction is made on 
the cord the knife is inserted into the inner side of the joint and the 
round ligament severed. The cord may now be dragged upon forci- 
bly, and the muscles and other parts cut through as they are drawn 
tense, until finally the whole member has been extracted. Traction 
on the rope round the other thigh will now suffice to extract, in most 
cases, but if it should fail the other limb may be cut off in the 
same manner, and then hooks inserted in front of the brim of the 
pelvis or in the openings in the bones of its floor (obturator fora- 
mina) will give sufficient purchase for extraction. Another method 
is to insert a knife between the bone of the rump (sacrum) and the 
hip bone and sever their connections; then cut through the joint 
(symphysis) between the two hip bones in the median line of the 
floor of the pelvis, and then with a hook in the opening on the 
pelvic bones (obturator foramen) drag upon the limb and cut the 
tense soft parts until the limb is freed and extracted. 

Presentation of the hack. — In this presentation straining may be 
active, .but after the rupture of the water bags no progress is made, 
and the hand introduced will recognize the back with its row of 
spinous processes and the springing ribs at each side pressed against 
the entrance to the pelvis. (PI. XVII, fig. 6.) The presence or 
absence of the ribs will show whether it is the region of the chest 
or the loins. By feeling along the line of spines until the ribs are 
met with we shall learn that the head lies in that direction. If, on 
the contrary, we follow the ribs until they disappear, and a blank 
space is succeeded by hip bones, it shows that we are approaching 
the tail. The head may be turned upward, downward, to the right 
side, or to the left. 

The object must be to turn the fetus so that one extremity or the 
other can enter the passage, and the choice of which end to bring for- 
ward will depend on various considerations. If one end is much 
nearer the outlet than the other, that would naturally be selected for 
extraction, but if they are equidistant the choice would fall on the 
hind end, as having only the two limbs to deal with without any risk 
of complication from the head. When the head is turned upward 
and forward it will usually be preferable to bring up the hind limb, 
as, owing to the drooping of the womb into the abdomen, rotation of 
the fetus will usually be easier in that direction, and if successful the 
resulting position will be a natural posterior presentation, with the 
back of the calf turned toward the rump of the cow. Similarly with 
the croup turned upward and forward, that should be pushed on for- 



198 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

wara, and if the forefeet and head can be secured it will be a natural 
anterior presentation, with the back of the calf turned upward 
toward the rump of the cow. 

The womb should be injected with warm water or oil, and the turn- 
ing of the calf will demand the combined action of the repeller and 
the hand, but in all such cases the operator has an advantage that the 
body of the fetus is wholly within the body of the womb, and there- 
fore movable with comparative ease. No part is wedged into the 
pelvic passages as a complication. The general principles are the 
same as in faulty presentation fore and hind, and no time should be 
lost in making the manipulations necessary to bring the feet into the 
pelvis, lest they get in bent or otherwise displaced and add unneces- 
sary complications. 

With a traverse direction of the calf, the head being turned to 
one side, the pressure must be directed laterally, so that the body 
will glide around on one side of the womb, and the extremities when 
reached must be promptly seized and brought into the passages. 
Sometimes a fortunate struggle of a live fetus will greatly aid in rec- 
tifying the position. 

Breast and abdomen presented — All four feet in the passages. — In 
this form the calf lies across the womb with its roached back turned 
forward and its belly toward the pelvis. All four feet may be ex- 
tended and engaged in the passages, or one or more may be bent on 
themselves so as to lie in front of the pelvis. The head, too, may 
usually be felt on the right side or the left, and if detected it serves to 
identify the exact position of the fetus. The position may further be 
decided upon by examination of the feet and limbs. With the limbs 
extended the front of the hoofs and the convex aspect of the bent 
pasterns and fetlocks will look toward that flank in which lie the 
head and shoulders. On examination still higher the smooth, even 
outline of the knee and its bend, looking toward the hind parts, 
characterize the fore limb, while the sharp prominence of the point 
of the hock and the bend on the opposite side of the joint, looking 
toward the head, indicate the hind limb. (PL XVII, fig. 5.) 

The remedy of this condition is to be sought in repelling into the 
womb those limbs that are least eligible for extraction, and bringing 
into the passages the most eligible extremities. The most eligible will 
usually be those which project farthest into the passages, indicating 
the nearer proximity of that end of the calf. An exception may, 
however, be made in favor of that extremity which will give the most 
natural presentation. Thus if, owing to obliquity in the position of 
the fetus, the hind extremities promised a presentation with the back 
of the fetus turned down toward the udder, and the anterior extremi- 
ties one with the back turned up toward the spine, the latter should 
be selected. Again, if the choice for the two extremities is evenly 



DISEASES OF THE GENEKATIVE ORGANS. 199 

balanced, the hind may be chosen as offering less risk of complication, 
there being no head to get displaced. 

The first step in the treatment is to place a running noose on each 
of the four feet, marking those of the fore limbs to distinguish them 
from those of the hind ones. In case it is proposed to bring the 
anterior extremities into the passage, a noose should also be placed 
on the lower jaw. Then run the ropes attached to the two feet that 
are to be pushed back through the ring of a cord carrier (PL XXI, 
fig. 5 ) , passing the rings down to the feet, and by the aid of the car- 
rier push them well back into the womb and hold them there. Mean- 
while drag upon the ropes attached to the two other feet so as to 
bring them into the passage (or, in case of the anterior extremity, on 
the two foot ropes and the head one) . The other feet must be pushed 
back into the womb until the body of the calf is fully engaged in the 
passages. After this they can no longer find an entrance, but must 
follow as the body escapes. 

NEGLECTED AND AGGRAVATED CASES. 

In laying down the foregoing rules for giving assistance in critical 
cases of calving it is not intimated that all cases and stages can be 
successfully dealt with. Too often assistance is not sought for many 
hours or even days after labor pains, and the escape of the waters 
intimate the danger of delay. Not seldom the long delay has been 
filled up with unintelligent and injurious attempts at rendering as- 
sistance, violent pulling when resistance is insurmountable without 
change of position, injuries to the vagina and womb by ill-considered 
but too forcibly executed attempts to change the position, the repeated 
and long-continued contact with rough hands and rougher ropes and 
hooks, the gashes with knives and lacerations with instruments in 
ignorant hands, the infecting material introduced on filthy hands and 
instruments, and the septic inflammations started in the now dry 
and tender passages and womb. Not infrequently the death, putre- 
faction, and bloating of the calf in the womb render the case ex- 
tremely unpromising and make it impossible to apply successfully 
many of the measures above recommended. The labor pains of the 
cow may have practically ceased from exhaustion; the passages of 
the vagina may be so dry, tender, friable, red, and swollen that it 
requires considerable effort even to pass the oiled hand through them, 
and the extraction of the calf or any portion of it through such a 
channel seems a hopeless task; the womb maj 7 ' be equally dry, in- 
flamed and swollen, so that its lining membrane or even its entire 
thickness is easily torn ; the fetal membranes have lost their natural, 
unctuous and slippery character, and cling firmly to the dry walls 
of the womb, to the dry skin of the calf, or to the hands of the op- 
erator; the dead and putrefying calf may be so bloated with gases 



200 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

that the womb has been overdistended by its presence, and the two 
adhere so closely that the motion of the one on the other is practically 
impossible. In other cases reckless attempts to cut the calf in pieces 
have left raw surfaces with projecting bones which dangerously 
scratch and tear the womb and passages. 

In many cases the extreme resort must be had of cutting the fetus 
to pieces (embryotomy), or the still more redoubtable one of Ceesar- 
ean section (extraction through the flank). 

DISSECTION OF THE UNBORN CALF (EMBRYOTOMY). 

In some cases the dissection of the calf is the only feasible means 
of delivering it through the natural passages; and while it is espe- 
cially applicable to the dead calf, it is also on occasion called for in 
the case of the living. As a rule, the living calf should be preserved, 
if possible, but if this threatens to entail the death of the cow it is 
only in the case of offspring of rare value that its preservation is to 
be preferred. To those acquainted with the toil, fatigue, and discom- 
fort of embryotomy, no discussion is necessary so long as there is a 
prospect of success from the simple and generally easier method of 
rectifying the faulty position of the calf. When the correction of 
the position is manifestly impossible, however, when distortions and 
monstrosities of the fetus successfully obstruct delivery, when the 
pelvic passages are seriously contracted by fractures and bony 
growths, when the passages are virtually almost closed by swelling, 
or when the calf is dead and excessively swollen, no other resort may 
be available. In many cases of distortion and displacement the dis- 
memberment of the entire calf is unnecessary, the removal of the 
offending member being all that is required. It will be convenient, 
therefore, to describe the various suboperations one by one and in the 
order in which they are usually demanded. 

Amputation of the fore limb. — In cutting off a fore limb it is the 
one presenting that should be selected, since it is much more easily 
operated on, and its complete removal from the side of the chest 
affords so much more space for manipulation that it often makes it 
easy to bring the other missing limb or the head into position. The 
first consideration is to skin the limb from the fetlock up and leave 
the skin attached to the body. The reasons for this are : (a) That the 
skin is the most resistant structure of the limb, and when it has been 
removed the entire limb can be easily detached; (b) the tough skin 
left from the amputated limb may be used as a cord in subsequent 
traction on the body of the calf; (c) the dissection and separation 
of the limb are far more safely accomplished under the protection 
of the enveloping skin than if the operator's hands and instruments 
were in direct contact with the walls of the passages or womb; (d) 



DISEASES OP THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 201 

the dissection can be much more easily effected while the skin is 
stretched by the left hand, so as to form a comparatively firmer re- 
sistant point for the knife, than when it is attempted to cut the soft, 
yielding, and elastic tissues which naturally offer little solid resist- 
ance, but constantly recede before the cutting edge of the instrument. 
The preservation of the skin is therefore a cardinal principle in the 
amputation of all parts in which it is at all feasible. 

The presenting foot is inclosed in a noose and drawn well out of 
the passages. Then a circular incision through the skin is made 
around the limb just above the fetlock. From this the skin is slit 
up on the inner side of the limb to the breast. Then the projecting 
part of the limb is skinned up to the vulva, traction being made on 
the footby an assistant so as to expose as much as possible. The 
embryotomy knife may now be taken (PI. XXI, fig. 2), and a small 
hole having been cut in the free end of the detached portion of skin, 
that is seized by the left hand and extended while its firm connec- 
tions with the deeper structures are cut through. The looser con- 
nections can be more quickly torn through with the closed fist or 
the tips of the four fingers held firmly together in a line or with the 
spud, of which there are several kinds. Much of the upper part of 
the limb can be skinned more speedily without the knife, but that 
must be resorted to to cut across tough bands whenever these inter- 
rupt the progress. The skinning should be carried upward on the 
outer side of the shoulder blade to the spine or nearly so. Then with 
the knife the muscles attaching the elbow and shoulder to the breast- 
bone are cut across, together with those on the inner side of the shoul- 
der joint and in front and behind it as far as these can be reached. 
Steady traction is now made upon the foot, the remaining muscles 
attaching the shoulder blade to the trunk are torn through with a 
cracking noise, and the whole limb, including the shoulder blade and 
its investing muscles, comes away. If the shoulder blade is left the 
bulk of the chest is not diminished, and nothing has been gained. 
Before going further it is well to see whether the great additional 
space thus secured in the passages will allow of the missing limb or 
head to be brought into position. If not, the other presenting part, 
limb or head, is to be amputated and extracted. For the limb the 
procedure is a repetition of that just described. 

Amputation of the head. — The head is first seized and drawn well 
forward, or even outside the vulva, by a rope with a running noose 
placed around the lower jaw just behind the incisor teeth, by a sharp 
hook inserted in the arch of the lower jaw behind the union of its 
two branches and back of the incisor teeth, or by hooks inserted in 
the orbits, or, finally, in case the whole head protrudes, by a halter. 
(PI. XXI, figs 4a and 46.) 



202 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

In case the whole head protrudes, a circular incision through the 
skin is made just back of the ear, and the cut edge being held firmly 
by the left hand, the neck is skinned as far as it can be reached. 
Then the great ligamentous cord above the spine is cut across at the 
farthest available point, together with the muscles above and below 
the spine. Strong traction on the head will then detach it at this 
point and bring it away, but should there still be too much resistance 
the knife is inserted between the bodies of two vertebras just behind 
one of the prominent points felt in the median line below, and their 
connecting fibrous cartilage is cut through, after which compara- 
tively moderate pulling will bring it away. The detached neck and 
body at once slip back into the womb, and if the fore limbs are now 
brought up and pulled they are advanced so far upon the chest that 
the transverse diameter of that is greatly diminished and delivery 
correspondingly facilitated. 

If the head is still inclosed in the vagina two methods are avail- 
able : (1) The removal of the lower jaw and subsequent separation of 
the head from the neck; (2) the skinning of the whole head and its 
separation from the neck. 

To remove the lower jaw the skin is dissected away from it until 
the throat is reached. Then the muscles of the cheeks and side of 
the jaw (masseters) are cut through and those connecting the jaw 
with the neck. When traction is made on the rope around the lower 
jaw it will usually come away with little trouble. Should it resist, 
its posterior extremity on each side (behind the grinding teeth) may 
be cut through with bone forceps or with a guarded bone chisel. 
(PL XX, fig. 8.) After the removal of the lower jaw the way will 
be open to separate the head from the neck, the knife being used to 
cut into the first or second joint from below, or the bone forceps or 
chisel being employed to cut through the bones of the neck. Then 
traction is made on the head by means of hooks in the orbits, and the 
hand, armed with an embryotomy knife, is introduced to cut through 
the tense resisting ligament and muscles above the bones. The skin 
and the strong ligamentous cord attached to the poll are the essential 
things to cut, as the muscles can easily be torn across. Unless there 
are great difficulties in the way it is well to skin the head from the 
e}^es back, and on reaching the poll to cut through the ligament and 
then bring the head away by pulling. 

If it is decided to remove the entire head at once, it may be skinned 
from the front of the eyes back to behind the lower jaw below and 
the poll above, then cut through the muscles and ligaments around 
the first joint and pull the head away, assisting, if need be, in the 
separation of the head by using the knife on the ligament of the 
joint. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 203 

If the calf is a double-headed monster, the skinning of the head 
must be carried backward until the point has been reached where 
both heads branch from the single neck, and the separation must be 
made at that point. The muscles and ligaments are first to be cut 
through; and if the part can not then be detached by pulling, the 
bodies of the vertebra? may be separated by passing the knife through 
the joint. The second head may now be secured by a noose around 
the lower jaw or hooks in the orbits and brought up into place, the 
body being pushed back toward the other side by a repeller, so as to 
make room. 

It should be added that, except in the case of a double-headed 
monster, or in case of the head protruding or nearly so, and one or 
both fore limbs presenting, it is rarely desirable to undertake ampu- 
tation of the head. The space desirable in the passages can usually 
be obtained by the much simpler and easier procedure of removing 
one or both fore limbs. 

Amputation of the hind limbs. — This is sometimes demanded on 
the one extended limb when the other can not be brought up and de- 
livery can not be effected; also in case of monsters having extra 
hind limbs; when the calf is dead, putrid, and bloated with gas; and 
in some cases of breech presentation, as described under that head. 

When the limb is extended the guiding principles are as in the case 
of the fore limbs. The skin is cut through circularly above the fet- 
lock and slit up to beneath the pelvic bones on the inner side of the 
thigh. It is then dissected from the other parts as high as it has been 
slit on the inner side and to above the prominence {tix> chanter m-ajor) 
on the upper end of the thigh bone on the outer side of the joint. In 
this procedure the hands and spud can do much, but owing to the 
firmer connections the knife will be more frequently required than in 
the case of the fore limb. The muscles are now cut through all 
around the hip joint, and strong traction is made by two or three men 
on the limb. If there is still too much resistance, a knife is inserted 
into the joint on the inner side and its round ligament cut through, 
after which extraction will be comparatively easy. This accom- 
plished, it will often be possible to extract the fetus with the other 
leg turned forward into the womb. If the calf is bloated with gas, it 
may be necessary to remove the other leg in the same way, and even 
to cut open the chest and abdomen and remove their contents before 
extraction can be effected. In the case of extra limbs it may be pos- 
sible to bring them up into the passages after the presenting hind 
limbs have been removed. If this is not practicable, they may be de- 
tached by cutting them through at the hip joint, as described under 
" Breech presentation," page 195. 

Another method of removing the. hind limb is, after having 
skinned it over the quarter, to cut through the pelvic bones from 



204 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

before backward, in the median line below, by knife, saw, or long 
embryotome (PL XX, fig. 1), and then disjoint the bones of the 
spine (sacrum) and the hip bone (ilium) on that side with embryo- 
tome, knife, or saw, and then drag away the entire limb, along with 
all the hip bones on that side. This has the advantage of securing 
more room and thereby facilitating subsequent operations. Both 
limbs may be removed in this way, but on the removal of the second 
the operator is without any solid point to drag upon in bringing away 
the remainder of the fetus. 

Division across the middle of the body. — In cases of extra size, 
monstrosity, or distortion of one end of the body it may be requisite 
to cut the body in two and return the half from the passages into 
womb, even after one-half has been born. The presenting members 
are dragged upon forcibly by assistants to bring as much of the 
body as possible outside. Then cut through the skin around the 
body at some distance from the vulva, and with hand, knife, and spud 
detach it from the trunk as far back into the passages as can be 
reached. Next cut across the body at the point reached, beginning 
at the lower part (breast, belly) and proceeding up toward the spine. 
This greatly favors the separation of the backbone when reached, and 
further allows of its being extended so that it can be divided higher 
up. When the backbone is reached, the knife is passed between the 
two bones, the prominent ridges across their ends acting as guides, 
and by dragging and twisting the one is easily detached from the 
other. With an anterior presentation the separation should, if possi- 
ble, be made behind the last rib, while with a posterior presentation 
as many of the ribs should be brought away as can be accomplished. 
Having removed one half of the body, the remaining half is to be 
pushed back into the womb, the feet sought and secured with nooses, 
and the second half removed in one piece if possible ; and if not, then 
after the removal of the extra limb or other cause of obstruction. 

Removal of the contents of chest or abdomen. — If the body of the 
calf sticks fast in the passages by reason of the mere dryness of its 
skin and of the passages, the obstacle may be removed by injecting 
sweet oil past the fetus into the womb through a rubber or other 
tube, and smearing the passages freely with lard. When the obstruc- 
tion depends on excess of size of the chest or abdomen or thickening 
of the body from distorted spine, much advantage may be derived 
from the removal of the contents of these great cavities of the trunk. 
We have already seen how the haunches may be narrowed by cutting 
the bones apart in the median line below and causing their free edges 
to overlap each other. The abdomen can be cut open by the em- 
bryotomy knife or the long embryotome in the median line, or at 
any point, and the contents pulled out with the hand, the knife being 
used in any case when especial resistance is encountered. If the 



DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE ORGANS. 205 

abdomen is so firmly impacted that it can not be dealt within this 
way, one hind limb and the hip bone on the same side may be re- 
moved as described under "Amputation of the hind limbs," page 203. 
This will allow the introduction of the hand into the abdomen from 
behind, so as to pull out the contents. By introducing an embryot- 
omy knife in the palm of the hand and cutting through the muscle 
of the diaphragm the interior of the chest can be reached in the 
same way and the heart and lungs removed. 

When, in dealing with an anterior presentation, it becomes neces- 
sary to remove the contents of the chest, the usual course is to cut 
through the connections of the ribs with the breastbone (the costal 
cartilages) close to the breastbone on each side, and from the abdo- 
men forward to the neck. Then cut through the muscles connecting 
the front of the breastbone with the neck and its hinder end with the 
belly, and pull out the entire breastbone. Having torn out the heart 
and lungs with the hand, make the rib cartilages on the one side over- 
lap those on the other, so as to lessen the thickness of the chest, and 
proceed to extract the body. If it seems needful to empty the abdo- 
men as well, it is easy to reach it by cutting through the diaphragm, 
which separates it from the chest. 

Delivery through the flank {C cesarean section, or laparotomy). — 
This is sometimes demanded, when the distortion and narrowing of 
the hip bones are such as to forbid the passage of the calf, or when 
inflammation has practically closed the natural passages and the 
progeny is more valuable and worthy of being saved than the dam ; 
also in cases in which the cow has been fatally injured, or is ill beyond 
possibility of recovery and yet carries a living calf. It is too often a 
last resort after long and fruitless efforts to deliver by the natural 
channels, and in such cases the saving of the calf is all that can be 
expected, the exhausted cow, already the subject of active inflamma- 
tion and too often also of putrid poisoning, is virtually beyond hope. 
The hope of saving the dam is greatest if she is in good health and 
not fatigued, in cases, for example, in which the operation is resorted 
to on account of broken hip bones or abnormally narrow passages. 

The stock owner will not attempt such a serious operation as this. 
Yet, if the mother has just died or is to be immediately sacrificed, 
no one should hesitate to resort to it in order to save the calf. If 
alive, it is important to have the cow perfectly still. Her left fore leg 
being bent at the knee by one person, another may seize the left horn 
and nose and turn the head to the right until the nose rests on the 
spine just above the shoulder. The cow will sink down gently on her 
left side without shock or struggle. One may now hold the head 
firmly to the ground, while a second, carrying the end of the tail from 
behind forward on the inside of the right thigh, pulls upon it so as to 
keep the right hind limb well raised from the ground. If time presses 



206 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

she may be operated on in this position, or if the cow is to be sacri- 
ficed a blow on the head with an ax will produce quietude. Then 
the prompt cutting into the abdomen and womb and the extraction of 
the calf requires no skill. If, however, the cow is to be preserved, her 
two forefeet and the lower hind one should be safely fastened to- 
gether and the upper hind one drawn back. Two ounces chloral 
hydrate, given by injection, should induce sleep in 20 minutes, and 
the operation may proceed. In case the cow is to be preserved, wash 
the right flank and apply a solution of 4 grains of corrosive sublimate 
in a pint of water. 

Then, with an ordinary scalpel or knife, dipped in the above-men- 
tioned solution, make an incision from 2 inches below and in front 
of the outer angle of the hip bone in a direction downward and 
slightly forward to a distance of 12 inches. Cut through the muscles, 
and more carefully through the transparent lining membrane of the 
abdomen (peritoneum) , letting the point of the knife lie in the groove 
between the first two fingers of the left hand as they are slid down 
inside the membrane and with their back to the intestines. An as- 
sistant, whose hands, like those of the operator, have been dipped in 
the sublimate solution, may press his hands on the wound behind 
the knife to prevent the protrusion of the intestines. The operator 
now feels for and brings up to the wound the gravid womb, allowing 
it to bulge well through the abdominal wound, so as to keep back the 
bowels and prevent any escape of water into the abdomen. This is 
seconded by two assistants, who press the lips of the wound against 
the womb. Then an incision 12 inches long is made into the womb at 
its most prominent point, deep enough to penetrate its walls, but 
not so as to cut into the water bags. In cutting, carefully avoid 
the cotyledons, which may be felt as hard masses inside. By pressure 
the water bags may be made to bulge out as in natural parturition, 
and this projecting portion may be torn or cut so as to let the liquid 
flow down outside of the belly. The operator now plunges his hand 
into the womb, seizes the fore or hind limbs, and quickly extracts the 
calf and gives it to an attendant to convey to a safe place. The womb 
may be drawn out, but not until all the liquid has flowed out, and the 
fetal membranes must be separated from the natural cotyledons, one 
by one, and the membranes removed. The womb is now emptied with 
a sponge, which has been boiled or squeezed out of a sublimate solu- 
tion, and if any liquid has fallen into the abdomen it may be removed 
in the same way. A few stitches are now placed in the wound in the 
womb, using carbolized catgut. They need not be very close to- 
gether, as the wound will diminish greatly when the womb con- 
tracts. Should the womb not contract at once it may have applied 
against it a sponge squeezed out of a cold sublimate solution, or it 
may be drawn out of the abdominal wound and exposed to the cold 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 207 

air until it contracts. Its contraction is necessary to prevent bleed- 
ing from its enormous network of veins. When contracted, the womb 
is returned into the abdomen and the abdominal wound sewed up. 
One set of stitches, to be placed at intervals of 2 inches, is passed 
through the entire thickness of skin and muscles and tied around 
two quills or little rollers resting on the skin. (PI. XXVII, fig. 7.) 
These should be of silver, and may be cut at one end and pulled out 
after the wound has healed. The superficial stitches are put in every 
half inch and passed through the skin only. They, too, may be of sil- 
ver, or pins may be inserted through the lips and a fine cord twisted 
round their ends like a figure 8. (PI. XXVII, fig. 9.) The points 
of the pins may be snipped off with pliers. The edges may be still 
further held together by the application of Venice turpentine, melted 
so as to become firmly adherent, and covered with a layer of sterilized 
cotton wool. Then the whole should be supported by a bandage fixed 
around the loins and abdomen. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate XII. Fetal calf within its membranes (at mid term). The uterus is 
opened on the left side. In the uterus the fetus is surrounded by 
several membranes which are known as the amnion or inner layer, the 
allantois or central layer, and the chorion or outer layer. The amnion 
is nearest the fetus and forms a closed sac around it filled with a 
fluid known as liquor amnii, in which the fetus floats. The allantois 
is composed of two layers, which form a closed sac in connection with 
the urachus, or the tube which extends from the fetal bladder through 
the umbilical cord. The one layer of the allantois is spread over the 
outer surface of the amnion and the other over the inner surface of 
chorion. The allantois also contains a fluid which is known as the 
allantoid liquid. The chorion is the outer envelope or membrane of 
the fetus, completely inclosing the fetus with its other membranes. 
On the outer surface of this membrane are found the fetal placentitis, 
or cotyledons, which, through their attachment to the maternal cotyle- 
dons, furnish the fetus with the means of sustaining life. The relation 
of the fetal and maternal cotyledons to each other is illustrated on the 
following plate. 

Plate XIII. Pregnant uterus with cotyledons. 

Fig. 1. Uterus of the cow during pregnancy, laid open to show the coty- 
ledons (d) on the internal surface of uterus (c). The ovary (a) is 
shown cut across, and the two halves are laid open to show the position 
of the discharged ovum at a'. 
Fig. 2 illustrates the relation of the fetal and maternal parts of a coty- 
ledon. A portion of the uterus (A) is shown with the maternal coty- 
ledon (BB) attached to it. The fetal portion (D) consists of a mass 
of very minute hairlike processes on the chorion (E), which fit into 
corresponding depressions or pits of the maternal portion. Each por- 
tion is abundantly supplied with blood vessels, so that a ready inter- 
change of nutritive fluid may take place between mother and fetus. 

Plate XIV. Vessels of umbilical cord. 

Fig. 1. Fetal calf with a portion of the wall of the abdominal cavity of 
the right side and the stomach and intestines removed to illustrate 
the nature of the umbilical or navel cord. It consists of a tube (1-1') 
into which pass the two umbilical arteries (3) carrying blood to the 
placenta in the uterus or womb and the umbilical vein (4) bringing 
the blood back and carrying it into the liver. The cord also con- 
tains the urachus (2') which carries urine from the bladder (2) 
through the cord. These vessels are all obliterated at birth. 5, liver ; 
5', lobe of same, known as the lobus Spiegel ii ; 5", gall bladder; 6, 
right kidney; 6', left kidney; 6", ureters, or the tubes conducting 
the urine from the kidneys to the bladder ; 7, rectum, where it has 
ben severed in removing the intestines ; 8, uterus of the fetus, cut off at 
the anterior extremity; 9, aorta; 10, posterior vena cava. (From 
Fiirstenberg-Leisering, Anatomic und Physiologic des Rindes.) 
208 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XII 




Fetal Calf within Its Membranes. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XIII. 




Pregnant Uterus with Cotyledons. 






Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XIV. 





Vessels of Umbilical Cord. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XV. 




Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XVI. 




Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XVII. 




Plate XVIII. 



Diseases of Cattle. 




Adnormal Position of Calf in Utero. 
Surgical Instruments and Sutures. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XIX. 




Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XX. 



C: 



15^ 



■1 





/■ 



^L 






^^"D C 



V_ 



a 




Instruments Used in Difficult Labor. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXI. 




Instruments Used in Difficult Labor. 



DISEASES OF THE GENERATIVE ORGANS. 209 

Plate XIV. Vessels of umbilical cord — Continued. 

Fig. 2. Blood vessels passing through the umbilical cord in a human fetus. 
(From Quain's Anatomy, vol. 2.) L, liver; K, kidney; /, intestines; 
U C, umbilical cord ; Ua, umbilical arteries. The posterior aorta com- 
ing from the heart passes backward and gives rise to the internal iliac 
arteries, and of these the umbilical arteries are branches. Uv, um- 
bilical vein ; this joins the portal vein, passes onward to the liver, 
breaks up into smaller vessels, which reunite in the hepatic vein ; this 
empties into the posterior vena cava, which carries the blood back 
to the heart. 
Plate XV. Normal position of calf in utero. This is the most favorable position 
of the calf or fetus in the womb at birth, and the position in which 
it is most frequently found. This is known as the normal anterior 
position. The back of the fetus is directly toward that of the mother, 
the forelegs are extended back toward the vulva of the mother, and 
the head rests between them. The birth of the calf in this position 
usually takes place without artificial assistance. 
Plate XVI. Abnormal positions of calf in utero. (Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5 from 
Fleming's Veterinary Obstetrics; fig. 4 after St. Cyr, from Hill's 
Bovine Medicine and Surgery ; fig. 6 from D'Arboval, Dictionaire de 
Medecine et de Chirurgie.) 

Fig. 1. Anterior presentation ; one fore limb completely retained. The 
retained limb must be reached if possible and brought forward joint by 
joint and the fetus then extracted. 

Fig. 2. Anterior presentation; fore limbs bent at knee. The limbs must 
be extended before delivery can be accomplished. 

Fig. 3. Anterior presentation ; fore limb crossed over neck. The leg should 
be grasped a little above the fetlock, raised, drawn to its proper side, 
and extended in genital canal. 

Fig. 4. Anterior presentation ; downward deviation of head. The head must 
be brought into position seen in Plate XV before delivery can take 
place. 

Fig. 5. Anterior presentation ; deviation of the head upward and back- 
ward. Itetropulsion is the first indication, and will often bring the 
head into its normal position. 

Fig. 6. Anterior presentation; head presented with back down. The fetus 
should be turned by pushing back the fore parts and bringing up the 
hind so as to make a posterior presentation. 
Plate XVII. Abnormal positions of calf in utero. (Figs. 2 and 3 from Flem- 
ing; figs. 4, 5, and 6 from D'Arboval.) 

Fig. 1. Anterior presentation, with hind feet engaged in pelvis. A very 
serious malpresentation, in which it is generally impossible to save the 
fetus if delivery is far advanced. The indications are to force back the 
hind feet. 

Fig. 2. Thigh and croup presentation, showing the fetus corded. The cord 
has a ring or noose at one end. The two ends of the cord are passed 
between the thighs, brought out at the flanks, and the plain end passed 
through the noose at the top of the back and brought outside the vulva. 
The fetus must be pushed back and an attempt made to bring the 
limbs properly into the genital passage. 

Fig. 3. Croup and hock presentation. The indications in this abnormal 
presentation are the same as described for Fig. 2. 

Fig. 4. Posterior presentation ; the fetus on its back. Turn the fetus so as 
to make a normal anterior presentation. 
33071°— 16 14 



210 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Plate XVII. Abnormal positions of calf in utero — Continued. 

Fig. 5. Sterno-abdominal presentation. The fetus is on its side with limbs 
crossing and presenting. The limbs least eligible for extraction should 
be forced back into the uterus. 

Fig. 6. Dorso-lumbar presentation ; the back presenting. The fetus must 
be turned so that one or the other extremity can enter the passage. 
Plate XVIII. Abnormal positions of the calf in utero. Surgical instruments 
and sutures. 

Fig. 1. Twin pregnancy, showing the normal anterior and posterior presenta- 
tions. (From Fleming.) 

Fig. 2. Abdominal dropsy of the fetus ; normal presentation ; fore limbs 
corded. (After Armatage.) The drawing illustrates the method of 
puncturing the abdomen through the chest with a long trocar and 
cannula. The fluid is represented escaping from the cannula after the 
withdrawal of the trocar. 

Fig. 3. Tallich's short, bent, crotchet forceps. The forceps have bent and 
toothed jaws, which are intended to take hold of the fetus where 
neither cords nor hooks can be applied, as the ear, nose, or skin of 
cheek. 

Fig. 4. Clamp for ear, skin, etc. : 1—1, blades with hooks and corresponding 
holes ; 2, ring to close the blades ; 3, stem with female screw for handle ; 
4 handle, which may be either straight or jointed and flexible. 
Plate XIX. Monstrosities. This plate illustrates various malformations and 
diseases of the fetus which act as the cause of difficult parturition. 

Figs. 1, 2, 3. Fetuses with portions of their bodies double. Fig. 1 (from 
Fleming), double head, neck, and fore limbs. Fig. 2 (from Encyclop. 
der Gesam. Thierheilkunde, 1886), double head, neck, fore limbs, and 
body. Fig. 3 (from Fleming), double faced. 

Fig. 4. Fetus with head very much enlarged. (From Fleming.) This 
affection is known as hydrocephalus, or dropsy of the brain, and is due 
to a more or less considerable quantity of fluid in the cranial cavity 
of the fetus. 

Fig. 5. Skull of the calf represented in Fig. 4. The roof of the skull is 
absent. (From Fleming.) 
Plate XX. Instruments used in difficult labor. 

Fig. 1.* Long embryotome with joint. 

Fig. 2. Long sharp hook. This instrument is about 3 feet in length, includ- 
ing the handle. Hooks of this kind, both blunt and sharp, are applied 
directly to the fetus to assist in delivery. 

Fig. 3. Giinther's long-handled embryotome. This instrument and that rep- 
resented in Fig. 1 are of special value in cutting through muscular 
tissue and in separating the limbs from the trunk when the fetus can 
not be removed entire. These embryotomes are usually 30 inches long, 
but may be made either longer or shorter. 

Fig. 4. Jointed cord-carrier, used in difficult parturition to carry a cord into 
regions which can not be reached by the arm. 

Fig. 5. Instrument used to rotate or turn the fetus, known as a rotator. 

Fig. 6. Dilator of the neck of the womb, used when conception can not take 
place owing to a contracted condition of the neck of the womb. 

Fig. 7. Repeller. An instrument from 2 to 3 feet long, used to force the 
fetus forward into the womb. This operation is generally necessary 
when the presentation is abnormal and the fetus has advanced too far 
into the narrow inlet to the uterus to be moved. 



DISEASES OF THE GENEEATIVE ORGANS. 211 

Plate XX. Instruments used in difficult labor — Continued. 

Fig. 8. Cartwright's bone chisel. Including the handle, this instruments is 
about 32 inches in length ; the chisel portion is a little more than 2 
inches long and 1 to l? broad. Only the middle portion is sharp, the 
projecting corners are blunt, and the sides rounded. This instrument 
is used for slitting up the skin of a limb and as a bone chisel when it is 
necessary to mutilate the fetus in order to effect delivery. 
Plate XXI. Instruments used in difficult labor. 

Fig. 1. Embryotome, an instrument used when it is necessary to reduce the 
size of the fetus by cutting away certain parts before birth can be 
effected. This instrument may be long or short, straight or curved. 

Fig. 2. Also an embryotome. The blade can be made to slide out of or into 
the handle. The instrument can thus be introduced into or withdrawn 
from the genital passage without risk of injury to the mother. 

Fig. 3. Schaack's traction cord. This is merely a cord with a running noose 
at one end and a piece of wood at the other, to offer a better hold for 
the hand. 

Figs. 4ff and 4b. Reuff's head collar for securing the head of the fetus. 

Fig. 5. Curved cord-carrier, used in difficult parturition to carry a cord into 
regions which can not be reached by the arm. 

Fig. 6. Blunt hook, used in difficult parturition. 

Fig. 7. Short hook forceps, used in difficult parturition. 

Fig. 8. Blunt finger hook. 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 

By James Law, F. R. C. V. S., 
Formerly Professor Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell Vnicersity. 

FLOODING (BLEEDING FROM THE WOMB). 

Though not so common in the cow as in the human female, flooding 
is sufficiently frequent to demand attention. It may depend on a too 
rapid calving and a consequent failure of the womb to contract when 
the calf has been removed. The pregnant womb is extraordinarily 
rich in blood vessels, especially in large and tortuous veins, which 
become compressed and almost obliterated under contraction, but 
remain overfilled and often bleed into the cavity of the womb should 
no contraction take place. Cox records cases in which the labor 
pains had detached and expelled the fetal membranes, while the 
calf, owing to large size or wrong presentation, was detained in the 
womb, and the continued dilatation of the womb in the absence of 
the fetal membranes led to a flow of blood which accumulated in 
clots around the calf. Other causes are laceration of the cotyledons 
of the womb, or from an antecedent inflammation of the placenta, 
and the unnatural adhesion of the membranes to the womb, which 
bleeds when the two are torn apart. Weakness of the womb from 
overdistention, as in dropsy, twins, etc., is not without its influence. 
Finally, eversion of the womb (casting the withers) is an occasional 
cause of flooding. The trouble is only too evident when the blood 
flows from the external passages in drops or in a fine stream. When 
it is retained in the cavity of the womb, however, it may remain 
unsuspected until it has rendered the animal almost bloodless. The 
symptoms in such case are paleness of the eyes, nose, mouth, and of 
the lips of the vulva, a weak, rapid pulse, violent and perhaps loud 
beating of the heart (palpitations), sunken, staring eyes, coldness 
of the skin, ears, horns, and limbs, perspiration, weakness in stand- 
ing, staggering gait, and, finally, inability to rise, and death in con- 
vulsions. If these symptoms are seen, the oiled hand should be in- 
troduced into the womb, which will be found open and flaccid and 
containing large blood clots. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists in the removal of the fetal mem- 
branes and blood clots from the womb (which will not contract while 
they are present), the dashing of cold water on the loins, right flank, 
and vulva, and if these measures fail, the injection of cold water into 
the womb through a rubber tube furnished with a funnel. In obsti- 

212 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 213 

nate cases a good-sized sponge soaked' in tincture of muriate of iron 
should be introduced into the womb and firmly squeezed, so as to 
bring the iron into contact with the bleeding surface. This is at once 
an astringent and a coagulant for the blood, besides stimulating the 
womb to contraction. In the absence of this agent astringents (solu- 
tion of copperas, alum, tannic acid, or acetate of lead) may be 
thrown into the womb, and one-half-dram doses of acetate of lead 
may be given by the mouth, or 1 ounce powdered ergot of rye may be 
given in gruel. When nothing else is at hand, an injection of oil of 
turpentine will sometimes promptly check the bleeding. 

EVERSION OF THE WOMB (CASTING THE WITHERS). 

Like flooding, this is the result of failure of the womb to contract 
after calving. If that organ contracts naturally, the afterbirth is 
expelled, the internal cavity of the womb is nearly closed, and the 
mouth of the organ becomes so narrow that the hand can not be 
forced through, much less the whole mass of the matrix. When, 
however, it fails to contract, the closed end of one of the horns may 
fall into its open internal cavity, and under the compression of the 
adjacent intestines, and the straining and contraction of the abdomi- 
nal walls, it is forced farther and farther, until the whole organ is 
turned outside in, slides back through the vagina, and hangs from 
the vulva. The womb can be instantly distinguished from the pro- 
truding vagina or bladder by the presence, over its whole surface, of 
50 to 100 mushroomlike bodies (cotyledons), each 2 to 3 inches 
in diameter, and attached by a narrow neck. (Pis. XII, XIII.) 
When fully everted, it is further recognizable by a large, undivided 
body hanging from the vulva, and two horns or divisions which 
hang down toward the hocks. In the imperfect eversions the body 
of the womb may be present with two depressions leading into the 
two horns. In the cases of some standing the organ has become 
inflamed and gorged with blood until it is as large as a bushel 
basket, its surface has a dark-red, bloodlike hue, and tears and 
bleeds on the slightest touch. Still later lacerations, raw sores, and 
even gangrene are shown in the mass. At the moment of protrusion 
the general health is not altered, but soon the inflammation and fever 
with the violent and continued straining induce exhaustion, and the 
cow lies down, making no attempt to rise. 

Treatment. — Treatment varies somewhat, according to the degree 
of the eversion. In partial eversion, with the womb protruding 
only slightly from the vulva and the cow standing, let an assistant 
pinch the back to prevent straining while the operator pushes his 
closed fist into the center of the mass and carries it back through the 
vagina, assisting in returning the surrounding parts by the other 



214 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

hand. In more complete eversion, but with the womb as yet of its 
natural bulk and consistency and the cow standing, straining being 
checked by pinching the back, a sheet is held by two men so as to 
sustain the everted womb and raise it to the level of the vulva. It 
is now sponged clean with cold-water, the cold being useful in driving 
out the blood and reducing the bulk, and finally it may be sponged 
over with laudanum or with a weak solution of carbolic acid (1 dram 
to 1 quart water). 

The closed fist may now be planted in the rounded end of the 
largest horn and pushed on so as to turn it back within itself and 
carry it on through the vagina, the other hand being used meanwhile 
to assist in the inversion and in pushing the different masses in suc- 
cession within the lips of the vulva. In case of failure, resort should 
be had at once to a plan which I have successfully followed for many 
years. Take a long linen or cotton bandage, 5 or 6 inches wide, and 
wind it around the protruding womb as tightly as it can be drawn, 
beginning at the free end and gradually covering the entire mass up 
to the vulva. By this means the greater part of the blood will be 
forced out of the organ and its bulk greatly reduced, so that its reduc- 
tion is much facilitated. An additional advantage is found in the 
protection given to the womb by its investing bandage while it is 
being pushed forward into the vagina and abdomen. In manipulat- 
ing the exposed womb there is always danger of laceration, but when 
the organ is covered with a sheet it is next to impossible to tear it. 
The subsequent manipulation is as in the other case, by pushing the 
blind end forward within itself with the closed fist and carrying this 
on through the vagina into the abdomen with the constant assistance 
of the other hand. Often it will be found convenient to use the edge 
of the left hand to push the outer part of the protruding mass inside 
the lips of the vulva, while the right hand and arm are carrying the 
central portions forward through the vagina. An intelligent assist- 
ant, pushing with the palms of both hands on the outer portion of 
the mass, will also afford material assistance. As the womb is turned 
within itself the wrapping bandage will gradually loosen, but once 
the great mass has entered the passages it is easy to compel the rest 
to follow, and the compression by the bandage is no longer so im- 
portant. When the womb is fully replaced the bandage is left in its 
interior in a series of loose folds, and can be easily withdrawn. It 
is well to move the hand from side to side to insure that the two 
horns of the womb are fully extended and on about the same level 
before withdrawing the arm and applying a truss. 

When the womb has been long everted and is gorged with blood, 
inflamed, and friable there is often the additional disadvantage that 
the animal is unable or unwilling to rise. When lying down the 
straining can not be controlled so effectually, and, even in the absence 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 215 

of straining, the compression of the belly is so great as to prove a 
serious obstacle to reduction. The straining may be checked by 2 or 3 
ounces of laudanum or 2 ounces of chloral hydrate, or by inhalation 
of chloroform to insensibility, and then by raising the hind parts on 
straw bundles the gravitation of the abdominal organs forward may 
be made to lessen the resistance. If not successful in this way, the 
cow may be further turned on her back, and if return is still impos- 
sible, the hind limbs may be tied together and drawn up to a beam 
overhead by the aid of a pulley. In this position, in place of the 
pressure backward of the bowels proving a hindrance, their gravi- 
tation forward proves a most material help to reduction. In seek- 
ing to return the womb the sponging with ice-cold water, raising 
on a sheet, and wrapping in a tight bandage should be resorted 
to. Another method which is especially commendable in these in- 
flamed conditions of the womb is to bring a piece of linen sheet, 30 
by 36 inches, under the womb, with its anterior border close up to 
the vulva, then turn the posterior border upward and forward over 
the organ, and cross the two ends over this and ov^r each other above. 
The ends of the sheet are steadily drawn, so as to tighten its hold on 
the womb, which is thus held on the level of the vulva or above, and 
cold water is constantly poured upon the mass. The reduction is 
further sought by compression of the mass with the palms applied 
outside the sheet. Fifteen or twenty minutes are usually sufficient to 
cause the return of the womb, provided straining is prevented by 
pinching the back, or otherwise. 

In old and aggravated cases, with the womb torn, bruised, or even 
gangrenous, the only resort is to amputate the entire mass. This is 
done by tying a strong, waxed cord around the protruding mass close 
to the vulva, winding the cord around pieces of wood, so as to draw 
it as tightly as possible, cutting off the organ below this ligature, 
tying a thread on any artery that may still bleed, and returning the 
stump well into the vagina. 

Retention of the returned womb is the next point, and is most 
easily accomplished by a rope truss. Take two ropes, each about 18 
feet long and an inch in thickness. Double each rope at its middle, 
and lay the one above the other at the bend, so as to form an ovoid of 
about 8 inches in its long diameter. Twist each end of the one rope 
twice around the other, so that this ovoid will remain when they are 
drawn tight. (Pis. XXII and XXIII.) Tie a strap or rope around 
the back part of the neck and a surcingle around the body. Place 
the rope truss on the animal so that the ovoid ring will surround the 
vulva, the two ascending ropes on the right and left of the tail and 
the two descending ones down inside the thighs on the right and left 
of the udder. These descending ropes are carried forward on the 
sides of the body and tied to the surcingle and to the neck collar. 



216 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

The ascending ropes proceed forward on the middle of the back, 
twisting over each other, and are tied to the surcingle and collar. 
The upper and lower ropes are drawn so tightly that the rope ring 
is made to press firmly all around the vulva without risk of displace- 
ment. This should be worn for several days, until the womb shall 
have closed and all risk of further eversion is at an end. Variations 
of this device are found in the use of a narrow triangle of iron ap- 
plied around the vulva and fixed by a similar arrangement of ropes, 
surcingle, and collar (PI. XXIII, fig. 3), a common crupper simi- 
larly held around the vulva (PI. XXII, fig. 1), stitches through the 
vulva, and wire inserted through the skin on the two hips (PL 
XXIII, fig. 2), so that they will cross behind the vulva; also pes- 
saries of various kinds should be inserted into the vagina. None of 
these devices, however, present any advantage over the simple and 
comparatively painless rope truss described above. Such additional 
precautions as keeping the cow in a stall higher behind than in front, 
and seeing that the diet is slightly laxative and nonstimulating may 
be named. If straining is persistent, ounce doses of laudanum may 
be used twice a day, and the same may be injected into the vagina. 
If the womb has been cut off, injections of a solution of a tea- 
spoonful of carbolic acid in a quart of water should be used daily, or 
more frequently, until the discharge ceases. 

EVERSION OF THE BLADDER. 

A genuine eversion of the bladder is almost unknown in the cow, 
owing to the extreme narrowness of its mouth. The protrusion of 
the bladder, however, through a laceration sustained in calving, in 
the floor of the vagina and its subsequent protrusion through the 
vulva, is sometimes met with. In this case the protruding bladder 
contains urine; this can never be- the case in a real eversion, in 
which the inner surface of the bladder and the openings of the 
ureters are both exposed outside the vulva. The presence of a bag 
containing water, which is connected with the floor of the vagina, 
will serve to identify this condition. If the position of the bladder 
in the vulva renders it impracticable to pass a catheter to draw off 
the urine, pierce the organ with the nozzle of a hypodermic syringe, 
or even a very small trocar and cannula, and draw off the water, 
when it will be found an easy matter to return the bladder to its 
place. The rent in the vagina can be stitched up, but as there would 
be risk in any subsequent calving it is best to prepare the cow for the 

butcher. 

RUPTURE OF THE BLADDER. 

This has been known to occur in protracted parturition when the 
fetus finally passed while the bladder was full. The symptoms are 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 217 

those of complete suppression of urine and, tenderness of the abdo- 
men, with a steady accumulation of liquid, and fluctuation on han- 
dling its lower part. If the hand is introduced into the vagina it 
is felt to be hot and tender, and perhaps slightly swollen along its 
floor. As a final test, if the lower, fluctuating part of the abdomen 
is punctured with a hypodermic needle, a straw-colored liquid of a 
urinous odor flows out. The condition has been considered as past 
hope. The only chance for recovery would be in opening the abdo- 
men, evacuating the liquid, and stitching up the rent in the bladder, 
but at such a season, and with inflammation already started, there 
would be little to hope for. 

RUPTURE OF THE WOMB. 

When the womb has been rendered friable by disease rupture may 
occur in the course of the labor, but much more frequently it occurs 
from violence sustained in attempting assistance in difficult parturi- 
tion. It is also liable to occur during eversion of the organ through 
efforts to replace it. 

If it happens while the calf is still in the womb, it will usually 
bleed freely and continuously until the fetus has been extracted, so 
that the womb can contract on itself and expel its excess of blood. 
Another danger is that in case of a large rent the calf may escape 
into the cavity of the abdomen and parturition become impossible. 
Still another danger is that of the introduction of septic germs and 
the setting up of a fatal inflammation of the lining membrane of the 
belly (peritoneum). Still another is the escape of the small intes- 
tine through the rent and on through the vagina and vulva, so as to 
protrude externally and receive perhaps fatal injuries. In case of 
rupture before calving, that act should be completed as rapidly and 
carefully as possible, the fetal membranes removed, and the contrac- 
tion of the womb sought by dashing cold water on the loins, the right 
flank, or the vulva. If the calf has escaped into the abdomen and can 
not be brought through the natural channels, it may be permissible 
to fix the animal and extract it through the side, as in the Caesarian 
section. If the laceration has happened during eversion of the womb 
it is usually less redoubtable, because the womb contracts more 
readily under the stimulus of the cold air so recently applied. In 
case the abdomen has been laid open it is well to stitch up th< rent, 
but if not, it should be left to nature, and will often heal satisfac- 
torily, the cow even breeding successfully in after years. 

Rupture of the floor of the vagina has been already referred to as 
allowing the protrusion of the bladder. Laceration of the roof of 
this passage is also met with as the result of deviations of the hind 
limbs and feet upward when the calf lies on its back. In some such 
cases the opening passes clear into the rectum, or the foot may even 



218 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

pass out through the anus, so that that opening and the vulva are 
laid open into one. 

Simple, superficial lacerations of the vaginal walls are not usually 
serious, and heal readily unless septic inflammation sets in, in which 
case the cow is liable to perish. They may be treated with soothing 
and antiseptic injections, such as carbolic acid, 1 dram; water, 1 
quart. 

The more serious injuries depend on the complications. Rupture 
of the anterior part of the canal, close to the mouth of the womb, may 
lead to the introduction of infecting germs into the cavity of the ab- 
domen, or protrusion of the bowel through the rent and externally, 
either of which may prove fatal. If both these conditions are es- 
caped the wound may heal spontaneously. Rupture into the bladder 
may lead to nothing worse than a constant dribbling of the urine 
from the vulva. The cow should be fattened if she survives. Rup- 
ture into the rectum will entail a constant escape of feces through 
the vulva, and, of course, the same condition exists when the anus 
as well has been torn open. I have successfully sewed up an opening 
of this kind in the mare, but in the case of the cow it is probably 
better to prepare her for the butcher. 

CLOTS OF BLOOD IN THE WALLS OF THE VAGINA. 

During calving the vagina may be bruised so as to cause escape of 
blood beneath the mucous membrance and its coagulation into large 
bulging clots. The vulva may appear swollen, and on separating its 
lips the mucous membrane of the vagina is seen to be raised into 
irregular rounded swellings of a dark-blue or black color, and which 
pit on pressure of the finger. If the accumulation of blood is not 
extensive it may be reabsorbed, but if abundant it may lead to irri- 
tation and dangerous inflammation, and should be incised with a 
lancet and the clots cleared out. The wounds may then be sponged 
twice a day with a lotion made with 1 dram sulphate of zinc, 1 dram 
carbolic acid, and 1 quart water. 

RETAINED AFTERBIRTH. 

The cow, of all our domestic animals, is especially subject to this 
accident. This may be partly accounted for by the firm connections 
established through the fifty to one hundred cotyledons (PI. XIII, 
fig. 2) in which the fetal membranes dovetail with the follicles of the 
womb. It is also most liable to occur after abortion, in which prepa- 
ration has not been made by fatty degeneration for the severence of 
these close connections. In the occurrence of inflamation, causing 
the formation of new tissue between the membranes and the womb, 
we find the occasion of unnaturally firm adhesions which prevent the 
spontaneous detachment of the membranes. Again, in low conditions 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 219 

of health and an imperfect power of contraction we find a potent 
cause of retention, the general debility showing particularly in the 
indisposition of the womb to contract, after calving, with sufficient 
energy to expel the afterbirth. Hence we find the condition common 
with insufficient or innutrious feed, and in years or localities in 
which the fodder has suffered from weather. Ergoted, smutty, or 
musty fodder (PL V), by causing abortion, is a frequent cause of 
retention. Old cows are more subject than young ones, probably 
because of diminishing vigor. A temporary retention is sometimes 
owing to a too rapid closure of the neck of the womb after calving, 
causing strangulation and imprisonment of the membranes. Con- 
ditions favoring this are the drinking of cold (iced) water, the eat- 
ing of cold feed (frosted roots), and (through sympathy between 
udder and womb) a too prompt sucking by the calf or milking by 
the attendant. 

Sy7nptoms. — The symptoms of retention of the afterbirth are usu- 
ally only too evident, as the membranes hang from the vulva and rot 
away gradually, causing the most offensive odor throughout the 
building. When retained within the womb by closure of its mouth 
and similarly in cases in which the protruded part has rotted off, the 
decomposition continues and the fetid products escaping by the vulva 
appear in offensively smelling pools on the floor and mat together the 
hairs near the root of the tail. The septic materials retained in the 
womb cause inflammation of its lining membrane, and this, together 
with the absorption into the blood of the products of putrefaction, 
leads to ill health, emaciation, and drying up of the milk. 

Treatment. — Treatment varies according to the conditions. When 
the cow is in low condition, or when retention is connected with 
drinking iced water or eating frozen feed, hot drinks and hot mashes 
of wheat bran or other aliment may be sufficient. If along with 
the above conditions, the bowels are somewhat confined, an ounce 
of ground ginger, or half an ounce of black pepper, given with 
a quart of sweet oil, or 1£ pounds of Glauber's salt in at least 4 
quarts of warm water, will often prove effectual. A bottle or 
two of flaxseed tea, made by prolonged boiling, should also be 
given at frequent intervals. Other stimulants, like rue, savin, laurel, 
and carminatives like anise, cumin, and coriander, are preferred by 
some, but with very questionable reason, the more so that the first 
three are not without danger. Ergot of rye, 1 ounce, or its extract, 
1 dram, may be resorted to to induce contraction of the womb. The 
mechanical extraction of the membranes is, however, often called 
for ; of this there are several methods. The simplest is to hang a 
weight of 1 or 2 pounds to the hanging portion, and allow this, by 
its constant dragging and by its jerking effect when the cow moves, 
to pull the membranes from their attachments and to stimulate the 



220 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

womb to expulsive contractions. In the neglected cases, however, 
when the dependent mass is already badly decomposed, it is liable 
to tear across under the added weight, leaving a portion of the 
offensive material imprisoned in the womb. Again, this uncontrolled 
dragging upon a relaxed womb will (in exceptional cases only, it is 
true) cause it to become everted and to protrude in this condition 
from the vulva. 

A second resort is to seize the dependent part of the afterbirth 
between two sticks, and roll it up on them until they lie against the 
vulva; then, by careful traction, accompanied with slight jerking 
movements from side to side, the womb is stimulated to expulsive 
contractions and the afterbirth is wound up more and more on the 
sticks until finally its last connections with the womb are severed and 
the remainder is expelled suddenly en masse. It is quite evident that 
neglected cases with putrid membranes are poor subjects for this 
method, as the afterbirth is liable to tear across, leaving a mass in 
the womb. During the progress of the work any indication of tear- 
ing is the signal to stop and proceed with greater caution or alto- 
gether abandon the attempt in this way. 

The third method (that with the skilled hand) is the most 
promptly and certainly successful. For this the operator had better 
dress as for a parturition case. Again, the operation should be under- 
taken within twenty-four hours after calving, since later the mouth 
of the womb may be so closed that it becomes difficult to introduce 
the hand. The operator should smear his arms with carbolized lard 
or vaseline to protect them against infection, and particularly in 
delayed cases with putrid membranes. An assistant holds the tail to 
one side, the operator seizes the hanging afterbirth with the left 
hand, while he introduces the other along the right side of the vagina 
and womb, letting the membranes slide through his palm until he 
reaches the first cotyledon to which they remain adherent. In case 
no such connection is within reach, with the left hand gentle traction 
is made on the membranes until the deeper parts of the womb are 
brought within reach and the attachments to the cotyledons can be 
reached. Then the soft projection of the membrane, which is attached 
to the firm fungus-shaped cotyledon on the inner surface of the womb, 
is seized by the little finger, and the other fingers and thumb are 
closed on it so as to tear it out from its connections. To explain this, 
it is necessary only to say that the projection from the membrane is 
covered by soft, conical processes, which are received into cavities 
of a corresponding size on the summit of the firm, mushroom-shaped 
cotyledon growing from the inner surface of the womb. To draw 
upon the former, therefore, is to extract its soft, villous processes 
from within the follicles or cavities of the other. (PI. XIII, fig. 2.) 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 221 

If at times it is difficult to start this extraction it may be necessary 
to get the finger nail inserted between the two, and once started the 
finger may be pushed on, lifting all the villi, in turn, out of their 
cavities. This process of separating the cotyledons must be carefully 
conducted, one after another, until the last has been detached and the 
afterbirth comes freely out of the passages. I have never found any 
evil result from the removal of the whole mass at one operation, but 
Shaack mentions the eversion of the womb as the possible result of 
the necessary traction, and in cases in which those in the most distant 
part of the horn of the womb can not be easily reached, he advises 
to attach a cord to the membranes inside the vulva, letting it hang 
out behind, and to cut off the membranes below the cord. Then, after 
two or three days' delay, he extracts the remainder, now softened and 
easily detached. If carefully conducted, so as not to tear the cotyle- 
dons of the womb, the operation is eminently successful; the cow 
suffers little, and the straining roused by the manipulations soon sub- 
sides. Keeping in a quiet, dark place, or driving a short distance at 
a walking pace, will serve to quiet these. When the membranes 
have been withdrawn, the hand, half closed, may be used to draw 
out of the womb the offensive liquid that has collected. If the case 
is a neglected one, and the discharge is very offensive, the womb must 
be injected as for leucorrhea. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE VAGINA (VAGINITIS). 

This may occur independently of inflammation of the womb, and 
usually as the result of bruises, lacerations, or other injuries sustained, 
during calving. It will be shown by swelling of the lips of the vulva, 
which, together with their lining membrane, become of a dark-red or 
leaden hue, and the mucous discharge increases and becomes whitish 
or purulent, and it may be fetid. Slight cases recover spontaneously, 
or under warm fomentations or mild astringent injections (a tea- 
spoonful of carbolic acid in a quart of water) , but severe cases may go 
on to the formation of large sores (ulcers), or considerable portions 
of the mucous membrane may die and slough off. Baumeister re- 
cords two cases of diphtheritic vaginitis, the second case in a cow four 
weeks calved, contracted from the first in a newly calved cow. Both 
proved fatal, with formation of false membranes as far as the interior 
of the womb. In all severe cases the antiseptic injections must be 
applied most assiduously. The carbolic acid may be increased to 
one-half ounce to a quart, or chlorin water, or peroxid of hydrogen 
solution may be injected at least three times a day. Hyposulphite of 
soda, 1 ounce to a quart of water, is an excellent application, and the 
same amount may be given by the mouth. 



222 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

LEUCORRHEA (MUCOPURULENT DISCHARGE FROM THE 

PASSAGES). 

This is from a continued or chronic inflammation of the womb, or 
the vagina, or both. It usually results from injuries sustained in 
calving or from irritation by putrid matters in connection with re- 
tained afterbirth, or from the use of some object in the vagina 
(pessary) to prevent eversion of the womb. Exposure to cold or 
other cause of disturbance of the health may affect an organ so sus- 
ceptible as this at the time of parturition so as to cause inflammation. 

Symptoms. — The main symptom is the glairy, white discharge 
flowing constantly or intermittently (when the cow lies down), 
soiling the tail and matting its hairs and those of the vulva. When 
the lips of the vulva are drawn apart the mucous membrane is seen 
to be red, with minute elevations, or pale and smooth. The health 
may not suffer at first, but if the discharge continues and is putrid 
the health fails, the milk shrinks, and flesh is lost. -If the womb is 
involved the hand introduced into the vagina may detect the mouth 
of the womb slightly open and the liquid collected within its cavity. 
Examination with the oiled hand in the rectum may detect the out- 
line of the womb beneath, somewhat enlarged, and fluctuating under 
the touch from contained fluid. In some cases heat is more frequent 
or intense than natural, but the animal rarely conceives when served, 
and, if she does, is liable to abort. 

Treatment. — Treatment with the injections advised for vaginitis is 
successful in mild or recent cases. In obstinate ones stronger solu- 
tions may be used after the womb has been washed out by a stream 
of tepid water until it comes clear. A rubber tube is inserted into 
the womb, a funnel placed in its raised end, and the water, and after- 
wards the solution, poured slowly through it. If the neck of the 
womb is so close that the liquid can not escape, a second tube may 
be inserted to drain it off. As injections may be used chlorid of 
zinc, one-half dram to the quart of water, or sulphate of iron, 1 dram 
to the quart. Three drams of sulphate of iron and one-half ounce 
ground ginger may also be given in the feed daily. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE WOMB (METRITIS, INFLAMMATION OF 
WOMB AND ABDOMEN, OR METROPERITONITIS). 

Inflammation of the womb may be slight or violent, simple or asso- 
ciated with putrefaction of its liquid contents and general poisoning, 
or it may extend so that the inflammation affects the lining membrane 
of the whole abdominal cavity. In the last two cases the malady is a 
very grave one. 

Causes. — The causes are largely the same as those causing inflam- 
mation of the vagina. Greater importance must, however, be at- 
tached to exposure to cold and wet and to septic infection. 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 223 

Symptoms. — The symptoms appear two or three days after calving, 
when the cow may be seen to shiver, or the hair stands erect, espe- 
cially along the spine, and the horns, ears, and limbs are cold. The 
temperature in the rectum is elevated by one or two degrees, the pulse 
is small, hard, and rapid (70 to 100), appetite is lost, rumination 
ceases, and the milk shrinks in quantity or is entirely arrested, and 
the breathing is hurried. The hind limbs may shift uneasily, the tail 
be twisted, the head and eyes turn to the right flank, and the teeth 
are ground. With the flush of heat to the horns and other extremi- 
ties, there is redness of the eyes, nose, and mouth, and usually a dark 
redness about the vulva. Pressure on the right flank gives manifest 
pain, causing moaning or grunting, and the hind limbs are moved 
stiffly, extremely so if the general lining of the abdomen is involved. 
In severe cases the cow lies down and can not be made to rise. There 
is usually marked thirst, the bowels are costive, and dung is passed 
with pain and effort. The hand inserted into the vagina perceives 
the increased heat, and when the neck of the womb is touched the 
cow winces. Examination through the rectum detects enlargement 
and tenderness of the womb. The discharge from the vulva is at 
first watery, but becomes thick, yellow, and finally red or brown, with 
a heavy or fetid odor. Some cases recover speedily and may be al- 
most well in two days ; a large proportion perish within two days of 
the attack, and some merge into the chronic form, terminating in 
leucorrhea. In the worst cases there is local septic infection and 
ulceration, or even gangrene of the parts, or there is general septi- 
cemia, or the inflammation involving the veins of the womb causes 
coagulation of the blood contained in them, and the washing out of 
the clots to the right heart and lung leads to the blocking of the ves- 
sels in the latter and complicating pneumonia. Inflammation of the 
womb and passages after calving are always liable to these complica- 
tions, and consequently to a fatal issue. Franck records three in- 
stances of rapidly fatal metritis in cows, all of which had been 
poisoned from an adjacent cow with retained and putrid afterbirth. 
Others have had similar cases. 

Treatment. — Treatment in the slight cases of simple inflammation 
does not differ much from that adopted for vaginitis, only care must 
be taken that the astringent and antiseptic injections are made to 
penetrate into the womb. After having washed out the womb a solu- 
tion of chlorid of lime or permanganate of potassium (one-half ounce 
to 1 quart of water) , with an ounce each of glycerin and laudanum to 
render it more soothing, will often answer every purpose. It is 
usually desirable to open the bowels with 1^ pounds of Glauber's salt 
and 1 ounce of ginger in 4 quarts of warm water, and to apply 
fomentation of warm water or even mustard poultices or turpentine 
to the right flank. 



224 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

In the violent attacks with high temperature and much prostration, 
besides the salts agents must be given to lower the temperature and 
counteract septic poisoning. Salicylate of soda one-half ounce, or 
quinia 2 drams every four hours will help in both ways, or ounce 
doses of hyposulphite of soda or dram doses of carbolic acid may 
be given as often until six doses have been taken. Tincture of 
aconite has often been used in 20-drop doses every six hours. If 
the temperature rises to 106° or 107° F., it must be met by the 
direct application of cold or iced water to the surface. The animal 
may be covered with wet sheets and cold water poured on them 
frequently until the temperature in the rectum is lowered to 102° F. 
In summer the cow may be allowed to dry spontaneously, while 
in winter it should be rubbed dry and blanketed. Even in the 
absence of high temperature much good may be obtained from the 
soothing influence of a wet sheet covering the loins and flanks and 
well covered at all points by a dry one. This may be followed next 
day by a free application of mustard and oil of turpentine. When 
the animal shows extreme prostration, alcohol (1 pint) or carbonate 
of ammonia (1 ounce) may be given to tide over the danger, but 
such cases usually perish. 

In this disease, even more than in difficult and protracted parturi- 
tion or retained placenta, the attendants must carefully guard against 
the infection of their hands and arms from the diseased parts. The 
hand and arm before entering the passages should always be well 
smeared with lard impregnated with carbolic acid. 

MILK FEVER (PARTURITION FEVER, PARTURIENT APOPLEXY, OR 
PARTURIENT COLLAPSE). 

This disease is not only peculiar to the cow, but it may be said to 
be virtually confined to the improved and plethoric cow. It further 
occurs only at or near the time of calving. Indeed, these two factors, 
calving and plethora, may be set apart as preeminently the causes of 
this disease. It is the disease of cows that have been improved in 
the direction of early maturity, power of rapid fattening, or a heavy 
yield of milk, and hence it is characteristic of those having great 
appetites and extraordinary power of digestion. The heavy milking 
breeds are especially its victims, as in them the demand for the daily 
yield of 50 to 100 pounds of milk means even more than a daily in- 
crease of 2 to 3 pounds of body weight, mainly fat. The victims are 
not always fat when attacked, but they are cows having enormous 
powers of digestion, and which have been fed heavily at the time. 
Hence the stall-fed, city-dairy cow, and the farm cow on a rich clover 
pasture in June or July are especially subject. The condition of the 
blood globules in the suffering cow attests the extreme richness and 
density of the blood, yet this peculiarity appears to have entirely 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PAETUEITION. 225 

escaped the notice of veterinary writers. I have never examined the 
blood of a victim of this disease without finding the red-blood 
globules reduced to little more than one-half their usual size. Now, 
these globules expand or contract according to the density of the 
liquid in which they float, If we dilute the blood with water they 
will expand until they burst, whereas if solids, such as salt or albu- 
min, are added they shrink to a large extent. Their small size, there- 
fore, in parturition fever indicates the extreme richness of the blood, 
or, in other words, plethora. 

Confinement in the stall is an accessory cause, partly because sta- 
bled cattle are highly fed, partly because the air is hotter and fouler, 
and partly because there is no expenditure by exercise of the rich 
products of digestion. 

High temperature is conducive to the malady, though the extreme 
colds of winter are no protection against it. Heat, however, con- 
duces to fever, and fever means lessened secretion, which means a 
plethoric state of the circulation. The heats of summer are, how- 
ever, often only a coincidence of the real cause, the mature rich 
pastures, and especially the clover ones, being the greater. 

Electrical disturbances have an influence of a similar kind, dis- 
turbing the functions of the body and favoring sudden variations in 
the circulation. A succession of cases of the malady often accom- 
pany or precede a change of weather from dry to wet, from a low 
to a high barometric pressure. 

Costiveness, which is the usual concomitant of fever, may in a case 
of this kind become an accessory cause, the retention in the blood of 
what should have passed off by the bowels tending to increase the 
fullness of the blood vessels and the density of the blood. 

Mature age is a very strong accessory cause. The disease never 
occurs with the first parturition, and rarely with the second. It 
appears with the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth — after the growth of 
the cow has ceased and when all her powers are devoted to the pro- 
duction of milk. 

Calving is an essential condition, as the disturbance of the circula- 
tion consequent on the contraction of the womb and the expulsion 
into the general circulation of the enormous mass of blood hitherto 
circulating in the walls of the womb fills to repletion the vessels of 
the rest of the body and very greatly intensifies the already existing 
plethora. If this is not speedily counterbalanced by a free secretion 
from the udder, kidneys, bowels, and other excretory organs, the 
most dire results may ensue. "Calving may thus be held to be an 
exciting cause, and yet the labor and fatigue of the act are not 
active factors. It is after the easy calving, when there has been 
little expenditure of muscular or nervous energy and no loss of 
blood, that the malady is seen. Difficult parturitions may be fol- 
33071°— 16 15 



226 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

lowed by metritis, but they are rarely connected with parturition 
fever. 

All these factors coincide in intensifying the one condition of 
plethora and point to that as a most essential cause of the affection. 
It is needless to enter here into the much-debated question as to the 
mode in which the plethora brings about the characteristic symptoms 
and results. As the results show disorder or suspension of the 
nervous functions mainly, it may suffice to say that this condition of 
the blood and blood vessels is incompatible with the normal func- 
tional activity of the nerve centers. How much is due to congestion 
of the brain and how much to bloodlessness may well be debated, 
3 ? et in a closed box like the cranium, in which the absolute contents 
can not be appreciably increased or diminished, it is evident that, 
apart from dropsical effusion or inflammatory exudation, there can 
be only a given amount of blood; therefore, if one portion of the 
brain is congested, another must be proportionately bloodless; and 
as congestion of the eyes and head generally and great heat of the 
head are most prominent features of the disease, congestion of the 
brain must be accepted. This, of course, implies a lack of blood in 
certain other parts or blood vessels. 

The latest developments of treatment indicate very clearly that the 
main cause is the production of poisonous, metabolic products 
(leucomains and toxins) by secreting cells of the follicles of the 
udder, acting on the susceptible nerve centers of the plethoric, 
calving cow. Less fatal examples of udder poisons are found in the 
first milk (colostrum), which is distinctly irritant and purgative, 
and in the toxic qualities of the first milk drawn from an animal 
which has been subjected to violent overexertion or excitement. 
Still more conclusive as to the production of such poisons is the 
fact that the full distention of the milk ducts and follicles, and the 
consequent driving of the blood out of the udder and arrest of 
the formation of depraved products, determines a speedy and com- 
plete recovery from the disease. This does not exclude the other 
causes above named, nor the influence of a reflex nervous derange- 
ment proceeding from the udder to the brain. 

Symptoms. — It may be said that there are two extreme types of 
this disease, with intervening grades. In both forms there is the 
characteristic plethora and more or less sudden loss of voluntary 
movement and sensation, indicating a sudden collapse of nervous 
power; in one, however, there is such prominent evidence of conges- 
tion of head and brain that it may be called the congestive form 
par excellence, without thereby intimating that the torpid form is 
independent of congestion. 

In the congestive form there is sudden dullness, languor, hanging 
back in the stall, or drooping the head, uneasy movements of the hind 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 227 

limbs or tail ; if the cow is moved, she steps unsteadily, or even stag- 
gers ; she no longer notices her calf or her feed ; the eyes appear red 
and their pupils dilated; the weakness increases and the cow lies 
down or falls and after that is unable to rise. At this time the 
pulse is usually full, bounding, and the temperature raised, though 
not invariably so, the head, horns, and ears being especially hot and 
the veins of the head full, while the visible mucous membranes of 
nose and eyes are deeply congested. 

The cow may lie on her breastbone with her feet beneath the body 
and her head turned sleepily round, with the nose resting on the right 
flank; or, if worse, she may be stretched full on her side, with even 
the head extended, though at times it is suddenly raised and again 
dashed back on the ground. At such times the legs, fore and hind, 
struggle convulsively, evidently through unconscious nervous spasm. 
By this time the unconsciousness is usually complete; the eyes are 
glazed, their pupils widely dilated, and their lids are not moved when 
the ball of the eye is touched with the finger. Pricking the skin with 
a pin also fails to bring any wincing or other response. The pulse, 
at first from. 50 to 70 a minute, becomes weaker and more accelerated 
as the disease advances. The breathing is quickened, becoming 
more and more so with the violence of the symptoms, and at first 
associated with moaning (in exceptional cases, bellowing), it may, 
before death, become slow, deep, sighing, or rattling (stertorous). 
The temperature, at first usually raised, tends to become lower as 
stupor and utter insensibility and coma supervene. The bowels, 
which may have moved at the onset of the attack, become torpid or 
completely paralyzed, and, unless in case of improvement, they are 
not likely to operate again. Yet this is the result of paralysis and 
not of induration of the feces, as often shown by the semiliquid, 
pultaceous condition of the contents after death. The bladder, too, 
is paralyzed and fails to expel its contents. A free action of either 
bladder or bowels, or of both, is always a favorable symptom. The 
urine contains sugar, in quantity proportionate to the severity of 
the attack. 

In nearly all cases the torpor of the digestive organs results in gas- 
tric disorder; the paunch becomes the seat of fermentation, produc- 
ing gas, which causes it to bloat like a drum. There are frequent 
eructations of gas and liquid and solid feed, which, reaching the par- 
alyzed throat, pass in part into the windpipe and cause inflammations 
of the air passages and lungs. 

In the torpid form of the disease there is much less indication of 
fever or violence. There may be no special heat about the horns, 
ears, or forehead, nor any marked redness or congestion of the eyes 
or nose, nor engorgement of the veins of the head. The attack 
comes on more slowly, with apparent weakness of the hind limbs, 



228 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

dullness, drowsiness, suspension of rumination and appetite, and a 
general indifference to surrounding objects. Soon the cow lies down, 
or falls and is unable to rise, but for one or two days she may rest on 
the breastbone and hold the head in the flank without showing any 
disorderly movements. Meanwhile there is not only loss of muscular 
power and inability to stand, but also considerable dullness of sensa- 
tion, pricking the skin producing no quick response, and even touch- 
ing the edge of the eyelids causing no very prompt winking. Unless 
she gets relief, however, the case develops all the advanced symptoms 
of the more violent form, and the animal perishes. 

In advanced and fatal cases of either form the insensibility becomes 
complete; no irritation of skin or eye meets any response; the eye 
becomes more dull and glassy ; the head rests on the ground or other 
object; unless prevented the cow lies stretched fully on her side; the 
pulse is small, rapid, and finally imperceptible ; the breathing is slow, 
deep, stertorous, and the expirations accompanied with puffing is slow, 
the cheeks, and death comes quietly or with accompanying struggles. 

Prevention. — For such fatal disease prevention is of far more con- 
sequence than treatment. Among the most efficient preventives 
may be named a spare diet (amounting to actual starvation in very 
plethoric, heavy-milking cows) for a week before calving and at least 
four days after. A free access to salt and water is most important, 
as the salt favors drinking and the water serves to dilute the rich 
and dense blood. Iced water, however, is undesirable, as a chill may 
favor the onset of fever. A dose of Epsom salt (1 to 2 pounds) 
should be given 12 to 24 hours before calving is due, so that it may 
operate at or just before that act. In case calving has occurred unex- 
pectedly in the heavy milker, no time should be lost in giving the 
purgative thereafter. A most important precaution in the fleshy, 
plethoric cow, or in one that has been attacked at a previous calving, 
is to avoid drawing any milk from the bag for 12 or 21 hours after 
calving. Breeders on the island of Jersey have found that this 
alone has almost abolished the mortality from milk fever. If Epsom 
salt is not at hand, saltpeter (1 ounce) should be used for several 
days. Daily exercise is also of importance, and, excepting in mid- 
summer, when the heat of the sun may be injurious, the value of 
open air is unquestionable. Even in summer an open shed or shady 
grove is incomparably better than a close, stuffy stall. A rich pas- 
ture (clover especially), in May, June, or July, when at its best, is 
to be carefully avoided. It is better to keep the cow indoors on dry 
straw with plenty of salt and water than to have access to such 
pastures. 

Treatment. — Treatment of milk fever has been completely revolu- 
tionized, with the result that a former mortality of 50 to 70 per cent 
has been practically abolished. Formerly the most vigorous treat- 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 229 

ment was practiced by bleeding, purging, the increase of peristalsis 
by eserin or pilocarpin, enemas, cold in the head, coimterirritants, 
aconite, tartar emetic, sponging, wet-sheet packing, etc. The gross 
mortality, however, was not materially reduced, and nearly all that 
were attacked within the first two days after calving perished. 

The first step in the modern treatment was made in 1897, when 
J. Schmidt published his successful treatment by the injection of the 
teats and milk ducts with a solution of iodid of potassium (1^ drams 
to 1 quart of water). This reduced the mortality to 17 per cent. 
Others followed this lead by the injection of other antiseptics (lysol, 
creolin, creosol, chinosol, common salt, etherized air, oxygen). 
These succeeded as well as the iodid solution. With the injection 
of gases, however, a fuller distention of the udder was usually 
secured, and virtually every case recovered. This suggested the full 
distention of the udder with common atmospheric air filtered and 
sterilized, and this with the most perfect success. With sterile air 
Schmidt-Kolding claimed 96.7 per cent recoveries in 914 cases. 

In America the full distention of the udder, whether with oxygen 
or filtered air, has proved invariably successful in all kinds of cases, 
including the violent ones that set in within a few hours after calving. 
In 1 or 2 hours after the injection the cow has got up, had free 
passages from the bowels and bladder, bright expression of counte- 
nance, and some return of appetite. In my cases which had made no 
response for 8 hours to the iodid injection, the injection of the 
udder to full repletion with the gas (oxygen or air) has had im- 
mediately beneficial results. A similar full distention of the bag with 
a common-salt solution (0.5 to 100), or even with well-boiled water, 
is equally effective, but in these cases the weight of the liquid causes 
dragging upon the udder and a measure of discomfort which is 
escaped under the treatment with gas. 

The value of each method depends on the fullness of dis- 
tention of the udder and the arrest in larger part of the circulation 
and chemical changes in its tissues. This distention acts like magic, 
and seems hardly to admit of failure in securing a successful out- 
come. 

It can not, however, be recommended as absolutely devoid of 
dangers and serious complications. To get the best results it should 
be applied only by one who has been trained in the careful antiseptic 
methods of the bacteriological laboratory. Some readers will recall 
the case of the injection of the udders of show cows at Toronto to 
impose upon the judges. The cows treated in this way had the 
udders infected and ruined, and several lost their lives. There is no 
better culture medium for septic and other germs than the first 
milk (colostrum) charged with albumin and retained in the warm 
udder. Already in the hands of veterinarians even the Schmidt 



230 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

treatment has produced a small proportion of cases of infective 
mammitis. How many more such cases will develop if this treat- 
ment becomes a popular domestic resort, applied by the dairyman 
himself in all sorts of surroundings and with little or no antiseptic 
precautions? Even then, however, the losses will by no means 
approach the past mortality of 50 to 70 per cent, so that the economy 
will be immeasurable under even the worst conditions. A fair test 
and judgment of this treatment, however, can be obtained only when 
the administrator is trustworthy and painstaking, well acquainted 
with bateriological antisepsis and with the general and special path- 
ology of the bovine animal. 

The necessary precautions may be summarized as follows: 

(1) Provide an elastic rubber ball and tubes furnished with valves 
to direct the current of air, as in a common Davidson syringe. 

(2) Fill the delivery tube for a short distance with cotton steril- 
ized by prolonged heating in a water bath. 

(3) In the free end of the delivery tube fit a milking tube to be 
inserted into the teat. 

(4) Sterilize the entire apparatus by boiling for 30 minutes, 
and, without touching the milking tube, wrap it in a towel that has 
been sterilized in a water bath or in live steam and dried. 

(5) Avoid drawing any milk from the teats; wash them and the 
udder thoroughly with warm soapsuds; rinse off with well-boiled 
and cooled water, and apply to the teats, and especially to their tips, 
a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid or lysol, taking care that the 
teats are not allowed to touch any other body from the time they are 
cleansed until the teat tube is inserted. It is well to rest the cleansed 
and disinfected udder on a sterilized pad of cotton or a boiled towel. 

(6) The injecting apparatus is unwrapped ; the teat tube, seized by 
its attached end and kept from contact with any other body, is in- 
serted into the teat, while an assistant working the rubber pump fills 
the quarter as full as it will hold. The tube is now withdrawn and a 
broad tape is tied around the free end of the teat to prevent escape of 
the air. 

(7) The teat tube, which has been carefully preserved from pos- 
sible contact with other bodies, is dipped in the carbolic acid solution 
and inserted in a second teat, and the second quarter is inflated, and 
so with the third and fourth. 

(8) The recumbent cow is kept resting on her breastbone, with the 
head elevated, even if it should be necessary to pack around her with 
straw bundles or to suspend the head by a halter. When lying on her 
side she is liable to develop fatal bloating and to have belching of gas 
and liquids, which, passing down the windpipe, cause fatal broncho- 
pneumonia. 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PAETUEITION. 231 

(9) If in 2 hours the cow is not on her feet, if there is no brighter 
or more intelligent expression, if she has passed no manure or urine, 
and if the air has become absorbed, leaving the udder less tense, the 
injection of the bag may be repeated, under the same scrupulous and 
rigid precautions as at first. In all cases, but especially in severe 
ones, it is well to keep watch of the patient, and to repeat the dis- 
tention on the first indication of relapse. Should there not be a 
free discharge of feces and urine after rising, indicating a natural 
resumption of the nervous functions, the case should be all the more 
carefully watched, so that the treatment may be repeated if necessary. 

Accessory treatment may still be used, but is rarely necessaiw. A 
dose of purgative medicine (1| pounds of Epsom salt) in warm water 
may be given in the early stages, while as yet there is no danger 
of its passing into the lungs through paralysis of the throat. Eserin 
or pilocarpin (H grains) may be given under the skin to stimulate 
the movements of the bowels. Sponging the skin, and especially the 
udder, with cool water, may be resorted to in hot weather. 

Bloating may demand puncture of the paunch, in the left flank, 
with a cannula and trocar, the evacuation of the gas, and the intro- 
duction through the tube of a tablespoonful of strong liquid ammonia 
in a quart of cold water or other antiferment. 

The economic value of the new treatment of milk fever is enor- 
mous. The United States has nearly 22,000,000 milch cows. If we 
could raise their quality by preserving and breeding from the largest 
producers of both milk and butter fat, in place of losing the best by 
milk fever, as in the past, and if we could thus obtain an average 
increase of 2 quarts a day, the proceeds at 3 cents a quart would 
amount to $130,000,000 a year. 

PALSY AFTER CALVING (DROPPING AFTER CALVING). 

This consists in a more or less complete loss of control of the hind 
limbs occurring after calving, and caused by low condition, weak- 
ness, and exposure to cold or to injurious compression of the nerves 
of the hind limbs by a large calf passing through the pelvis. Its 
symptoms do not differ from those of palsy of the hind limbs, occur- 
ring at other times, and it may be treated in the same way, except so 
far as bruises of the vagina may demand special smoothing treat- 
ment. 

CONGESTION OF THE UDDER (GARGET). 

In heavy milkers, before and just after calving, it is the rule that 
the mammary gland is enlarged, hot, tense, and tender, and that a 
slight exudation or pasty swelling extends forward from the gland 
on the lower surface of the abdomen. This physiological congestion 
is looked upon as a matter of course, and disappears in two or three 
days when the secretion of milk has been fully established. This 



232 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

breaking up of the bag may be greatly hastened by the sucking of a 
hungry calf and the kneading it gives the udder with its nose, by 
stripping the glands clean thrice daily, and by active rubbing at each 
milking with the palm of the hand, with or without lard or, better, 
with camphorated ointment. 

The congestion may be at times aggravated by standing in a draft 
of cold air or by neglect to milk for an entire day or more (over- 
stocking, hefting) with the view of making a great show of udder 
for purposes of sale. In such cases the surface of the bag pits on 
pressure, and the milk has a reddish tinge or even streaks of blood, 
or it is partially or fully clotted and is drawn with difficulty, mixed, 
it may be, with a yellowish serum (whey) which has separated from 
the casein. This should be treated like the above, though it may 
sometimes demand fomentations with warm water to ward off in- 
flammation, and it may be a week before the natural condition of the 
gland is restored. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE UDDER (SIMPLE MAMMITIS). 

Congestion may merge into active inflammation, or it may arise 
direct, in connection with exposure to cold or wet, with standing in a 
cold draft, with blows on the udder with clubs, stones, horns, or feet, 
with injury from a sharp or cold stone, or the projecting edge of a 
board or end of a nail in the floor, with sudden and extreme changes 
of weather, with overfeeding on rich albuminous feed like cotton 
seed, beans, or peas, with indigestions, with sores on the teats, or 
with insufficient stripping of the udder in milking. In the period 
of full milk the organ is so susceptible that any serious disturbance 
of the general health is liable to fall upon the udder. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms and mode of onset vary in different 
cases. When following exposure there is usually a violent shivering 
fit, with cold horns, ears, tail, and limbs, and general erection of the 
hair. This is succeeded by a flush of heat (reaction) in which the 
horns, ears, and limbs become unnaturally warm and the gland swells 
up and becomes firm and solid in one, two, three, or all four quarters. 
There is hot dry muzzle, elevated temperature, full, accelerated pulse, 
and excited breathing, impaired or suspended appetite and rumina- 
tion, with more or less costiveness, suppression of urine, and a lessened 
yield of milk, which maj 7 be entirely suppressed in the affected 
quarter. 

In other cases the shivering escapes notice, the general disorder of 
the system is little marked or comes on late, and the first observed 
sign of illness is the firm swelling, heat, and tenderness of the bag. 
As the inflammation increases and extends, the hot, tender udder 
causes the animal to straddle with its hind limbs, and, when walking, 
to halt on the limb on that side. If the cow lies down it is on the 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 233 

unaffected side. With the increase in intensity and the extension of 
the inflammation the general fever manifests itself more prominently. 
In some instances the connective tissue beneath the skin and be- 
tween the lobules of the gland is affected, then the swelling is uni- 
formly rounded and of nearly the same consistency, pitting every- 
where on pressure. In other cases it primarily attacks the secreting 
tissue of the gland, then the swelling is more localized and appears 
as hard, nodular masses in the interior of the gland. This last is 
the usual form of inflammation occurring from infection entering by 
the teats. 

In all cases, but especially in the last-named form, the milk is sup- 
pressed and replaced by a watery fluid colored with blood (some- 
times deeply) and mingled with masses of clotted casein. Later it 
becomes white and purulent, and in many cases of an offensive odor. 

The course of the disease is sometimes so rapid and at others so 
slow that no definite rule can be laid down. In two or three days, or 
from that to the end of the week, the bag may soften, lose its heat and 
tenderness, and subside into the healthy condition, even resuming the 
secretion of milk. The longer the inflammatory hardness continues 
the greater the probability that its complete restoration will not be 
effected. When a portion of the gland fails to be restored in this 
way, and has its secretion arrested, it usually shrinks to a smaller 
size. More commonly a greater quantity of the inflammatory prod- 
uct remains in the gland and develops into a solid, fibrous mass, caus- 
ing permanent hardening (induration). In other cases, in place of 
the product of inflammation developing into a fibrous mass, it softens 
and breaks down into white, creamy, liquid pus (abscess). This ab- 
scess may make its way to the surface and escape externally, or it may 
burst into a milk duct and discharge through the teat. It may break 
into both and establish a channel for the escape of milk (fistula). In 
the worst types of the disease gangrene may ensue, a quarter or half 
or even the whole udder, losing its vitality, and sloughing off if the 
cow can bear up against the depressing influence. These gangrenous 
cases are probably always the result of infection and sometimes run 
a very rapidly fatal course. I remember one to which I was called 
as soon as the owner noticed it, yet I found one-quarter dark blue, 
cold, and showing a tendency to the formation of blebs containing 
a bloody secretion. The cow, which had waded through a depth of 
semiliquid manure to reach her stall, died within 24 hours. 

Treatment. — Treatment varies with the type and the stage of the 
disease. If the case is seen in the shivering fit, every effort should 
be made to cut it short, as the inflammation may be thereby greatly 
moderated, if not checked. Copious drinks of warm water thrown in 
from horn or bottle; equally copious warm injections; the applica- 
tion of heat in some form to the surface of the body (by a rug wrung 



234 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

out of hot water; b}' hanging over the back and loins bags loosely 
filled with bran, sand, salt, chaff, or other agent previously heated 
in a stove ; by the use of a flatiron or the warming of the surface by 
a hot-air bath), or by active friction with straw wisps by two or 
more persons; the administration of a pint of strong alcoholic 
liquor, or of 1 ounce of ground ginger, may serve to shorten the 
attack. After half an hour's sweat the animal should be rubbed 
and covered with a dry blanket. 

If, on the other hand, there is little or no fever, and only a slight 
inflammation, rub well with camphorated ointment or a weak iodin 
ointment, and milk three, four, or six times a day, rubbing the bag 
thoroughly each time. Milking must be done with great gentleness, 
squeezing the teat in place of pulling and stripping it, and if this 
causes too much pain, the teat tube (PI. XXIV, fig. 4) or the spring 
teat dilator (PL XXIV, fig. 3) may be employed. Antiseptic injec- 
tions of the teats and udder are often useful, and iodoform in water 
has been especially recommended. It may be replaced by one of the 
injections advised for parturition fever, used with the same careful 
precautions. 

In cases in which the fever has set in and the inflammation is more 
advanced, a dose of laxative medicine is desirable (Epsom salt, 1 to 
2 pounds; ginger, 1 ounce), which may be followed, after the purg- 
ing has ceased, by daily doses of saltpeter, 1 ounce. Many rely on 
cooling and astringent applications to the inflamed quarter (vinegar, 
sugar-of-lead lotion, cold water, ice, etc.), but a safer and better 
resort is continued fomentation with warm water. A bucket of 
warm water, replenished as it cools, may be set beneath the udder, 
and two persons can raise a rug out of this and hold it against the 
udder, dipping it anew whenever the temperature is somewhat 
lowered. A sheet may be passed around the body, with holes cut for 
the teats, soft rags packed between it and the udder, and kept warm 
by pouring water on every 10 or 15 minutes, as warm as the hand 
can bear. When this has been kept up for an hour or two, the bag 
may be dried, well rubbed with soap, and left thus with a soapy 
coating. If the pain is great, extract of belladonna may be applied 
along with the soap, and a dry suspensory bandage with holes for 
the teats may be applied. Strong, mercurial ointment is very useful 
in relieving pain and softening the bag. This is especially valuable 
when the disease is protracted and induration threatens. It may be 
mixed with an equal quantity of soap and half as much extract of 
belladonna. In cases of threatened induration excellent results are 
sometimes obtained from a weak-induction current of electricity 
sent through the gland daily for 10 minutes. 

If abscess threatens, it may be favored by fomentation and opened 
as soon as fluctuation from finger to finger shows the formation of 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 235 

matter at a point formerly hard. The wound may bleed freely, and 
there is a risk of opening a milk duct, yet relief will be obtained ; also 
a dressing twice daily with a lotion of carbolic acid 1 part, water 20 
parts, and glycerin 1 part will suffice to keep the wound clean and 
healthy. 

Gangrene of the affected part is often fatal. It demands antisep- 
tics (chlorid of zinc, 1 dram to 1 quart water) applied frequently to 
the part, or, if the case can not be attended, smear the affected quar- 
ter with Venice turpentine, melted, or even wood tar. Antiseptic 
tonics (tincture of chlorid of iron, 4 drams) may also be given four 
times daily in a quart of water. 

CONTAGIOUS MAMMITIS (CONTAGIOUS INFLAMMATION OF THE 

UDDER). 

As stated in the last article, that form of inflammation of the udder 
which attacks the gland ducts and follicles, causing deep-seated, hard, 
nodular swellings, is often contagious. Franck has demonstrated 
this by injecting into the milk ducts in different cows (milking and 
dry) the pus from the bags of cows affected with mammitis, or the 
liquids of putrid flesh, or putrid blood, and in every case he produced 
acute inflammation of the gland tissue within twenty-four hours. 
He thinks that in ordinary conditions the septic germ gains access by 
propagating itself through the milk, filling the milk canal and oozing 
from the external orifice. He points to this as a reason why dry cows 
escape the malady, though mingling freely with the sufferers, and 
why such dry cows do not suffer from inflammation of the gland tis- 
sue when attacked with foot-and-mouth disease. In this last case it is 
evident that it is not simply the inoculation with the milker's hand 
that is lacking, for the skin of the bag is attacked, but not its secret- 
ing, glandular parts. Now that in any case of abscess we look for the 
cause in the chain forms of globular bacteria (Streptococcus pyog- 
enes), in the cluster form of white, globular bacteria (Staphylococ- 
cus pyogenes albus), and in the golden and citron-yellow forms of 
clustered globular bacteria (Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus and 
Staphylococcus pyogenes citreus), the formation of pus gives pre- 
sumptive evidence of the action of one or more of these germs. So in 
cases of mortification of the bag ; in the very occurrence there is fair 
circumstantial evidence of the presence of erysipelas micrococcus or 
other germ which kills the local tissues. Again, in tuberculosis 
affecting the bag (a not uncommon condition), the active local cause 
is without doubt the tubercle bacillus. 

It has been found that false membranes have formed in certain 
cases of mammitis in the cow, and Klein, after inoculating the diph- 
theria of man on the cow, found an ulcerous sore in the seat of inoc- 
ulation and blisters on the teats and udder, in which he found what 



236 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

he believed to be the bacillus of diphtheria. The results are doubt- 
ful, even in the absence of false membranes. Loftier, too, in the 
diphtheria of calves, found that the germ was longer and more deli- 
cate than that of man, and that its pathogenesis for rodents was 
less, guinea pigs having only a nonfatal abscess. The presence of 
false membranes in one form of mammitis in cows does not neces- 
sarily imply its communicability to man. 

It has been asserted that scarlet fever has been transmitted from 
the cow to man, and it can not be denied that in many cases the infec- 
tion has been spread by means of the milk. The facts, however, when 
brought out fully have shown that in almost every case the milk 
had first come into contact with a person suffering or recovering 
from scarlet fever, so that the milk was infected after it left the cow. 
The alleged exceptional cases at Hendon and Dover, England, are 
not conclusive. In the Hendon outbreak inoculations were made on 
calves from the slight eruption on the cow's teats, and they had a 
slight eruption on the lips and a form of inflammation of the kidneys, 
which Dr. Klein thought resembled that of scarlatina. The cows that 
had brought the disease to the Hendon dairies were traced back to 
Wiltshire, where cows were found suffering from a similar malady, 
.but no sign of scarlet fever resulted. In the Dover outbreak the 
dairyman first denied any disease in his cows, and brought a certifi- 
cate of a veterinarian to prove that they were sound at the time of the 
investigation; then later he confessed that the cows had had foot- 
and-mouth disease some time before, and consequent eruption on the 
teats. So the question remains whether the man who denied sickness 
in the cows to begin with, and adduced professional evidence of it, 
did not later acknowledge the foot-and-mouth disease as a blind to 
hide the real source of the trouble in scarlatina in his own family or 
in the family of an employee. 

In America Dr. Stickler said that he had produced scarlatina 
in children by inoculation with imported virus of foot-and-mouth dis- 
ease, but his contention is negatived by the facts that with foot-and- 
mouth disease constantly present in Europe scarlatina does not ac- 
company it, and that in America, with scarlatina constantly prevail- 
ing at some point, foot-and-mouth disease is unknown locally except 
at long intervals and as the result of the importation of infected ani- 
mals or their products. Man is susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease, 
but it never appears during the frequent epidemics of scarlatina. 

Among other contagious forms of mammitis I may name one which 
I have encountered in large dairies, starting as a sore and slight 
swelling at the opening of the teat and extending up along the milk 
duct to the gland structure in the bag, all of which become indurated, 
nodular, and painful. The milk is entirely suppressed in that quarter 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PAETUEITION. 237 

of the bag, and from that it may extend to the others as it does from 
cow to cow through the milker's hands. 

Another form almost universally prevalent in this district of cen- 
tral New York in 1889 broke out on the teats and udders as blisters 
strongly resembling cowpox, but which were not propagated when 
inoculated on calves. It was only exceptionally that this extended 
through the teat to the gland tissue, yet in some instances the bag 
was lost from this cause. Scarlatina in man was very prevalent at 
the time (many schools were closed in consequence), but no definite 
connection seemed to exist between this and the cow disease, and on 
different dairy farms there were families of young children that had 
never had scarlet fever and who did not at that time contract it. 

The most common cause of contagious mammitis in cattle is a 
spherical bacterium in chain form (Streptococcus) (Moore, Ward). 
Yet it is clear that contagious mammitis is not a single affection, but 
a group of diseases which have this in common, that they attack the 
udder. 

Prevention. — Prevention is to be especially sought in all such cases. 
In purchasing new cows see that they come from a herd where the 
teats and udder are sound. If a new cow with unknown antecedents 
comes from a public market, let her be milked for a week by a person 
who does not milk any other cows. Keep her in a separate stall from 
others, so that there may be no infection from litter or flooring. 
Wash the udder with soap and water, and wet with a solution of two 
teaspoonfuls of carbolic acid in a pint of water before letting the 
regular milker of the other cows take her. If any cow in the herd 
shows the indurated end of the teat or the inflammation and nodular 
tender character of the gland, sequestrate her at once and give her a 
separate milker. If another cow is to be put into the stall she occu- 
pied, first clean and scrape it, and wet it with a strong solution of 
bluestone, 5 ounces in a gallon of water. The milk may be drawn off 
with a teat tube, or spring teat dilator (PI. XXIV, figs. 3 and 4) , and 
the milk ducts injected frequently with a solution of peroxid of 
hydrogen or iodoform. I have had little success in checking the up- 
ward progress of the disease through the teat with carbolic acid or 
boric-acid solutions. Used on the outside of the other teats, how- 
ever, they may serve to prevent them from becoming infected. In the 
absence of peroxid of hydrogen the affected teat may be injected 
with a solution of 1 grain corrosive sublimate in a pint of water, 
and the same may be used on the other teats, provided it is washed 
off every time before milking. 

As additional precautions, no cow with a retained afterbirth or 
unhealthy discharge from the womb should be left with the other 
cows. Such cows doubtless infect their own udders and those of the 



238 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

cows next them by lashing with the soiled tail. If milkers handle 
retained afterbirth or vaginal discharge, or unhealthy wounds, or 
assist in a difficult and protracted parturition, they should wash the 
hands and arms thoroughly with soap and warm water and then rub 
them with the corrosive sublimate solution, or if not, at least with 
one of carbolic acid. Clothes stained with such offensive products 
should be thoroughly washed. 

The general treatment of contagious mammitis does not differ from 
that of the simple form, except that antiseptics should be given by 
the mouth as well as applied locally (hyposulphite of soda, one-half 
ounce daily). 

COWPOX. 

This is another form of contagious inflammation of the udder which 
does not spread readily from animal to animal except by the hands 
of the milker. It is held to occur spontaneously in the cow, but this 
is altogether improbable, and so-called spontaneous cases are rather 
to be looked on as instances in which the germs have been preserved 
dry in the buildings or introduced in some unknown manner. It is 
not uncommon in the horse, attacking the heels, the lips, or some 
other inoculated part of the body, and is then easily transferred to 
the cow, if the same man grooms and dresses the horse and milks the 
cow. It may also appear in the cow by infection, more or less direct, 
from a person who has been successfully vaccinated. Many believe 
that it is only a form of the smallpox of man modified by passing 
through the system of cow or horse. It is, however, unreasonable to 
suppose that this alleged modified smallpox could have been trans- 
mitted from child to child (the most susceptible of the human race) 
for 90 years, under all possible conditions, without once reverting 
to its original type of smallpox. Chauveau's experiments on both 
cattle and horses with the virus of smallpox and its inoculation back 
on the human subject go far to show that in the climate of western 
Europe, at least, no such transformation takes place. Smallpox 
remains smallpox and cowpox, cowpox. Again, smallpox is com- 
municable to a person who visits the patient in his room but avoids 
touching him, while cowpox is never thus transferred through the air 
unless deliberately diffused in the form of spray. The demonstration 
of a protozoan germ in smallpox implies a similar microbe in cowpox. 

The disease in the cow is ushered in by a slight fever, which, how- 
ever, is usually overlooked, and the first sign is tenderness of the 
teats. Examined, these may be redder and hotter than normal, and 
at the end of two days there appear little nodules, like small peas, of 
a pale-red color, and increasing so that by the seventh day they 
may measure three-fourths of an inch to 1 inch in diameter. The 
yield of milk diminishes, and when heated it coagulates slightly. 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 239 

From the seventh to the tenth day the eruption forms into a blister, 
with raised margins and a depression in the center, and from which 
the whole of the liquid can not be drawn by a single puncture. The 
blister, in other words, is chambered, and each chamber must be 
opened to evacuate the whole of the contents. If the pock forms on 
a surface where there is thick hair it does not rise as a blister, but 
oozes out a straw-colored fluid which concretes on the hairs in an 
amber-colored mass. In one or two days after the pock is full it 
becomes yellow from contained pus and then dries into a brownish- 
yellow scab, which finally falls, leaving one or more distinct pits in 
the skin. Upon the teats, however, this regular course is rarely seen ; 
the vesicles are burst oy the hands of the milker as soon as liquid 
is formed, and as they continue to suffer at each milking they form 
raw, angry sores, scabbing more or less at intervals, but are slow to 
undergo healing. 

The only treatment required is to heal the sores. As milking is 
the main cause of their persistence, that must be done as gently as 
possible, or even with the teat tube or dilator. (PI. XXIV, figs. 3 
and 4.) It is essential to check the propagation of the germ, and 
for this purpose the sore teats may be washed frequently with a 
solution of half an ounce hyposulphite of soda in a pint of water. 
This will usually check the inflammation and cut short the malady. 

SUPPRESSION OF MILK. 

The absence of milk in the udder may result from ill health, debil- 
ity, emaciation, chronic disease of the bag, wasting of the gland 
from previous disease, or insufficient feed, but sometimes it will 
occur suddenly without any appreciable cause. The treatment con- 
sists in removing the cause of the disease, giving rich albuminoid 
feed made into warm mashes, and administering ounce doses of 
aromatic carminatives, like anise seed, fennel seed, etc. Rubbing 
and stripping the udder are useful ; the application of oil of laven- 
der or of turpentine, or even a blister of Spanish flies, will some- 
times succeed. 

BLOODY MILK. 

Blood may escape with the milk when the udder has been injured 
by blows ; also when it is congested or inflamed, when the circulation 
through it has been suddenly increased by richer and more abundant 
feed, or when the cow is under the excitement of heat. The milk 
frothing up and assuming a pink tinge is often the first sign of red 
water, and it may result from eating acrid or irritant plants, like the 
Ranunculaceae, resinous plants, etc. Deposits of tubercle or tumors 
in the udder, or induration of the gland, may be efficient causes, the 
irritation caused by milking contributing to draw the blood. Finally, 



240 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

there may be a reddish tinge or sediment when madder or logwood 
has been eaten. 

In milk which becomes red after it is drawn it may be from the 
presence in it of the Micrococcus prodigiosus. This also grows on 
bread, and is the explanation of the supposed miracle of the " bleed- 
ing host." 

The treatment will vary with the cause. In congested glands give 

1 pound of Epsom salt, and daily thereafter one-half ounce salt- 
peter, with a dram of chlorate of potassium ; the bag should be bathed 
with hot or cold water, and rubbed with camphorated lard. If the 
feed is too rich or abundant it must be reduced. If from acrid 
plants, they must be removed from pasture or fodder. Induration 
of the udder may be met by rubbing with a combination of iodin 
ointment 1 part, soft soap 2 parts; mercurial ointment and soap also 
may be used. Careful milking is imperative. 

BLUE MILK. 

Watery milk is blue, but the presence of a germ (Bacillus cya- 
nogenes) causes a distinct blue shade even in rich milk and cream. 
It may reach the milk after it has been drawn, or it may find its way 
into the opening of the milk ducts and enter the milk as it is drawn. 
In the latter case frequent milking and the injection of a solution of 

2 drams of hyposulphite of soda in a pint of water into the teats will 
serve to destroy the germs. 

STRINGY MILK. 

This may be caused by fungi developing in the liquid, and that the 
spores are present in the system of the cow may be safely inferred 
from the fact that in a large herd two or three cows only will yield 
such milk at a time, and that after a run of 10 days or a fortnight 
they will recover and others will be attacked. I have found that 
such affected cows had the temperature raised one or two degrees 
above the others. Like most other fungi this does not grow out into 
filaments within the body of the cow, but in five or six hours after 
milking the surface layers are found to be one dense network of fila- 
ments. If a needle is dipped in this and lifted the liquid is drawn 
out into a long thread. In one case which I investigated near 
Ithaca, N. Y., the contamination was manifestly from a spring 
which oozed out of a bank of black-muck soil and stood in pools 
mixed with the dejections of the animals. Inoculation of pure milk 
with the water as it flowed out of this bank developed in it the 
fungus and the stringy characters. By fencing the spring in and 
giving the affected cows each 2 drams bisulphite of soda daily, the 
trouble was arrested promptly and permanently. 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 241 

CHAPPED TEATS. 

These may be caused by anything which irritates them. The 
powerful sucking of the calf ; the sudden chilling of the teat in winter 
after the calf has just let it go or after the completion of milking 
with a wet hand ; contact with cold water or stagnant, putrid water, 
or with filth or irritants when lying down ; slight congestions of the 
skin in connection with overstocking; indeed, any source of local 
irritation may cause chapping. This may be slight or extend into 
great, gaping sores and induce retention of milk or even mammitis. 
Soothing applications of vaseline or a combination of equal parts of 
spermaceti and oil of sweet almonds may be applied. If healing is 
tardy, add 10 grains balsam of Peru to the ounce of ointment. If 
the irritation is very great, wash first with a solution of 1 dram sugar 
of lead in 1 pint of water and then apply benzoated zinc-oxid oint- 
ment. 

WARTS ON THE TEATS. 

These are often very troublesome, yet they may be greatly bene- 
fited or entirely removed by smearing them thickly with pure olive 
oil after each milking. If they persist they may be cut off with a pair 
of sharp scissors and the sore touched with a stick of lunar caustic. 
They may now be oiled and the caustic repeated as demanded to pre- 
vent their renewed growth. 

/Scabby teats may be smeared with vaseline containing carbolic acid 
enough to give it an odor. 

TEAT BLOCKED BY CONCRETION OF CASEIN. 

Under unhealthy conditions of the gland or milk ducts clots of 
casein form which, pressed clear of most of their liquid and rolled 
into rounded masses, may block the passage. They can be moved up 
and down by manipulation of the teat, and if they can not be pressed 
out they may be extracted by using the spring teat dilator (PL XXIV, 
fig. 3), being held surrounded by its three limbs. Before extraction 
is attempted an ounce of almond oil, boiled, should be injected into 
the teat. 

TEAT BLOCKED BY CALCULUS. 

When the calcareous matter of the milk has been precipitated in 
the form of a smooth, rounded stone, a rough, conglomerated concre- 
tion, or a fine, sandlike debris, it may cause obstruction and irrita- 
tion. These bodies are felt to be much harder than those formed by 
casein, and the milk usually contains gritty particles. Extraction 
may be attempted, in the case of the finely divided gritty matter, by 
simple milking or with the spring dilator (PI. XXIV, fig. 3) in the 
case of the larger masses. Should this fail the teat may be laid open 
33071 °— 16 16 



242 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

with the knife and sewed up again or closed with collodion, but such 
an operation is best deferred until the cow is dry. 

TEAT BLOCKED BY A WARTY OR OTHER GROWTH INSIDE. 

In this case the obstruction may be near the orifice of the teat or 
farther up, and the solid mass is not movable up and down with the 
same freedom as are concretions and calculi. The movement is lim- 
ited by the elasticity of the inner membrane of the teat from which it 
grows, and is somewhat freer in certain cases because the growth has 
become loose and hangs by a narrow neck. In the case of the looser 
growths they may be snared by a fine, spring wire passed as a loop 
through a fine tube (like a teat tube open at each end) and introduced 
into the teat. When this can not be done, the only resort is to cut 
in and excise it while the cow is dry. 

THICKENING OF THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE AND CLOSURE OF THE 

MILK DUCT. 

As a result of inflammation extending from without inward, a 
gradual narrowing of the milk duct may occur from thickening and 
narrowing of its lining membrane. This may be limited to a small 
area near the lower end, or it may extend through the whole length 
of the teat. The stream of milk becomes finer and finer until it 
finally ceases altogether, and a firm cord is felt running through the 
teat. If the constriction is only at the outlet, the teat may be seized 
and distended by pressing the milk down into it from above, and an 
incision may be made with a sharp penknife in two directions at right 
angles to each other and directly in the original opening. The knife 
should be first cleansed in boiling water. The opening may be kept 
from closing by a dumb-bell shaped bougie of gutta-percha (PI. 
XXIV, fig. 5) or by the spring dilator. If the obstruction is more 
extended it may be perforated by Liithi's perforating sound. (PI. 
XXIV, fig. 1a and 1b.) This is a steel wire with a ring at one end, 
and at the other is screwed on to the wire a conical cap with sharp 
cutting edges at the base, which scrapes away the thickened masses 
of cells as it is drawn back. This may be passed again and again to 
enlarge the passages sufficiently, and then the passage may be kept 
open by wearing a long, dumb-bell bougie, a thick piece of carbolized 
catgut, or a spring dilator. If the passage can not be sufficiently 
opened with the sound it may be incised by the hidden bistoury. (PI. 
XXIV, fig. 2.) This is a knife lying alongside a flattened protector 
with smooth, rounded edges, but which can be projected to any re- 
quired distance by a lever on the handle. The incisions are made in 
four directions, as deep as may be necessary, and the walls then 
can be held apart by the spring dilator until they heal. In case the 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 243 

constriction and thickening of the canal extend the whole length of 
the teat, it is practically beyond remedy, as the gland is usually in- 
volved so as to render it useless. 

CLOSURE OF THE MILK DUCT BY A MEMBRANE. 

In this form the duct of the teat is closed by the constriction of its 
lining membrane at one point, usually without thickening. The clos- 
ure usually takes place while the cow is dry ; otherwise its progress is 
gradual, and for a time the milk may still be pressed through slowly. 
In such case, if left at rest, the lower part of the teat fills up and 
the milk flows in a full stream at the first pressure, but after this it 
will not fill up again without sufficient time for it to filter through. 
This is to be cut open by the hidden bistoury (PI. XXIV, fig. 2), 
which may be first passed through the opening of the membrane, if 
such exists. If not it may be bored through, or it may be pressed up 
against the membrane at one side of the teat and opened toward the 
center, so as to cut its way through. Incisions should be made in at 
least two opposite directions, and the edges then may be held apart 
by wearing the spring dilator until healing has been completed. 

In all cases of operations on the teats the instruments must be 
thoroughly disinfected with hot water, or by dipping in carbolic acid 
and then in water that has been boiled. 

OPENING IN THE SIDE OF THE TEAT (MILK FISTULA). 

This may occur from wounds penetrating the milk duct and failing 
to close, or it may be congenital, and then very often it leads to a dis- 
tinct milk duct and an independent portion of the gland. In the first 
form it is necessary only to dissect away the skin leading into the 
opening for some distance down, to close the orifice with stitches, and 
to cover the whole with collodion. A teat tube or spring dilator may 
be worn to drain the milk off and prevent distention and reopening 
of the orifice. In case of an independent milk duct and gland one of 
two courses may be selected — to open the one duct into the other by 
incision and then close the offending opening, or to inject the super- 
fluous gland through its duct with a caustic solution, so as to destroy 
its secreting power. In both cases it is desirable to wait until the 
cow goes dry. 



DISEASES FOLLOWING PARTURITION. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plates XXII, XXIII. Supports for prolapsed uterus. These illustrations show 
various appliances used in prolapse or inversion of the uterus. The, 
uterus should first be returned to its proper situation and then some 
apparatus applied to prevent a recurrence of the inversion or pro- 
trusion. 
Plate XXII : 

Fig. 1. Crupper, strap truss. (From Hill's Bovine Medicine and Surgery.) 

Fig. 2. Renault's rope truss. The rope for this truss should be from 25 
to 30 feet long and about the thickness of the little finger 
Plate XXIII : 

Fig. 1. Cow to which Delwart's rope truss has been applied. 

Fig. la shows the loop of Delwart's truss. 

Fig. 2. Zundel's labial sutures. These consist of two wires passed through 
the lips of the vulva in a horizontal direction, and two additional wires 
passed through the loops at the ends of the horizontal wires in order 
to hold them in place. 

Fig. 3. Iron truss for holding the vagina or uterus in place after calving. 
The cords are passed through the eyes at the corners of the triangular 
iron ; the base of the triangle fits under the tail. The truss is from 
5 to 7 inches long and about 2* inches wide. 
Plate XXIV. Instruments used in diseases following parturition. 

Fig. 1. Liithi's perforating sound, for opening the milk canal through the 
teat when this has become occluded ; A, the sound one-half the natural 
size ; B, section of head of sound, natural size, showing cutting edge. 

Fig. 2. Bistouri cache. A blade hidden in its sheath which by pressure 
of the finger may be made to protrude a certain distance. This dis- 
tance is regulated by the screw near the handle. The instrument is 
used to open the milk canal when closed up. It is introduced into the 
milk canal with its blade in the sheath and withdrawn with the blade 
protruding. 

Fig. 3. Spring teat dilator, about one-half natural size, for dilating the 
milk canal. 

Fig. 4. Ring teat syphon, for withdrawing milk when the teat is sore or 
injured. 

Fig. 5. Gutta-percha bougie, for dilating the opening of the teat. 

Fig. 6. Truss applied to calf for umbilical or navel hernia. (From Flem- 
ing's Veterinary Obstetrics.) 

Fig. 7. Armatage's iron clamp for umbilical or navel hernia. When this 
clamp is applied care must be taken not to include a portion of the 
bowel. 

244 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXII. 




Supports for Prolapsed Uterus, 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXIII. 




(?) 



WW. 



a 



r 



frd 



MAIL- 



w 





Supports for Prolapsed Uterus. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXIV. 




Instruments Used in Diseases Following Parturition 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 

By James Law, F. It. C. V. S., 
Formerly Professor of Veterinary Science, etc., in Cornell University. 

SUSPENDED BREATHING. 

The moment the circulation through the naval string is stopped 
the blood of the calf begins to become overcharged with carbon dioxid 
(C0 2 ), and unless breathing is speedily established death promptly 
follows. Fortunately the desire to breathe, roused by the circulation 
of the venous blood and the reflex action from the wet and chilling 
skin, usually starts the contractions of the diaphragm at once and 
life is insured. Among the obstacles to breathing may be named 
suffocation before or during birth from compression of the navel 
cord and the arrest of its circulation; the detachment of the fetal 
membranes from the womb before the calf is born ; a too free com- 
munication between the two auricles (foramen ovale) of the heart 
by which the nonaerated blood has mixed too abundantly with the 
aerated and induced debility and profound weakness; a condition of 
ill health and debility of the calf as a result of semistarvation, over- 
work, or disease of the cow ; fainting in the debilitated calf w T hen 
calving has been difficult and prolonged; the birth of the calf with 
its head enveloped in the fetal membranes, so that it has been unable 
to breathe, and the presence of tenacious phlegm in the mouth and 
nose, acting in the same manner. 

Besides the importance of proper care and feeding of the cow as 
a preventive measure, attention should be given at once to relieve the 
newborn calf of its investing membrane and of any mucus that has 
collected in mouth or nostrils. Wiping out the nose deeply with a 
finger or feather excites to sneezing, hence to breathing. Blowing 
into the nose has a similar effect. Sucking the nostril through a tube 
applied to it is even more effective. Slapping the chest with the palm 
of the hand or with a towel dipped in cold water, compression and 
relaxation alternately of the walls of the chest, may start the action, 
and ammonia or even tobacco smoke blown into the nose may suffice. 
Every second is precious, however, and if possible the lungs should 
be dilated by forcibly introducing air from a bellows or from the 
human lungs. As the air is blown in through bellows or a tube the 
upper end of the windpipe must be pressed back against the gullet, 
as otherwise the air will go to the stomach. In a large dairy a piece 

245 



246 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of elastic tubing one-third of an inch in bore should be kept at hand 
for sucking and blowing in such cases. 

BLEEDING FROM THE NAVEL. 

This may occur in two conditions — when the cord is cut off too 
close to the navel and left untied and when it tears off at the navel. 
(PL XIV.) It may also bleed when torn across naturally, if it is 
sucked by the dam or another calf. In an animal with little plasticity 
to its blood it will flow under almost any circumstances. When 
any cord is left it is always safe to tie it, and it is only when it is 
swollen and may possibly contain a loop of the bowel that there is 
danger in doing so. By pressing upward any bulky contents such 
danger is avoided. If torn or cut too close to be tied the bleeding 
may be checked by applying alum, copperas, or for a fraction of a 
second the end of an iron rod at a dull-red heat. If much blood has 
been lost it may be requisite to transfuse several ounces of blood or 
of a weak, common-salt solution into the open, umbilical vein. 

URINE DISCHARGED THROUGH THE NAVEL (PERSISTENT 

URACHUS). 

Before birth the urine passes from the bladder by a special tube 
through the navel and navel string into the outer water bag (allan- 
tois). (PI. XII.) This closes at birth, and the tube shrinks into a 
fine cord up to the bladder. It is only in the bull calf that it is liable 
to remain open, doubtless because of the long, narrow channel through 
which the urine must otherwise escape. The urethra, too, is some- 
times abnormally narrow, or even closed, in the male. If part of the 
cord remains, it should be tied and the whole allowed to wither up 
naturally. If the cord has been removed and the tube (urachus) 
protrudes, discharging the urine, that alone must be tied. If there is 
nothing pendent the urachus must be seized, covered by the skin, 
and a curved needle being passed through the skin and above the 
duct, it may be tied along with this skin. A blister of Spanish flies, 
causing swelling of the skin, will often close the orifice — so with the 
hot iron. If the urethra of the male is impervious it can rarely be 
remedied. 

INFLAMMATION OF THE URACHUS (NAVEL URINE DUCT). 

This may originate in direct, mechanical injury to the navel in 
calving, or shortly after, with or without the lodgment of irritant or 
septic matter on its lacerated or cut end. The mere contact with 
healthy urine, hitherto harmless, can now be looked on as becoming 
suddenly irritating. The affection is usually marked by the presence 
of redness and swelling at the posterior part of the navel and the 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 247 

escape of urine and a few drops of whitish, serous pus from the ori- 
fice of the urachus. In those cases in which urine is not discharged 
a tender swelling, like a thick cord extending upward and backward 
from the navel into the abdomen, may be identified. The navel 
enlargement may be considerable, but it is solid, does not gurgle on 
handling, and can not be done away with by pressing it back into the 
abdomen, as in a case of hernia. 

In cases at first closed the pus may burst out later, coming from 
the back part of the navel and the swelling extending backward. In 
other cases whitish pus may pass with the urine by the ordinary chan- 
nel, showing that it has opened back into the bladder. In other cases 
the umbilical veins become involved, in which case the swelling ex- 
tends forward as well as backward. Thus the disease may result in 
destructive disorders of the liver, lungs, and, above all, of the joints. 

The disease may usually be warded off or rendered simple and com- 
paratively harmless by applying antiseptics to the navel string at 
birth (carbolic acid 1 part, water and glycerin 5 parts each, or wood 
tar). Later, antiseptics may be freely used (hyposulphite of soda 4 
drams, water 1 quart) as an application to the surface and as an 
injection into the urachus, or even into the bladder if the two still 
communicate. If they no longer communicate, a stronger injection 
may be used (tincture of chlorid of iron 60 drops, alcohol 1 ounce). 
Several weeks will be required for complete recovery. 

ABSCESS OF THE NAVEL. 

As the result of irritation at calving or by the withered cord, or by 
licking witn the rough tongue of the cow, inflammation may attack 
the loose connective tissue of the navel to the exclusion of the urachus 
and veins, and go on to the formation of matter. In this case a firm 
swelling appears as large as the fist, which softens in the center and 
may finally burst and discharge. The opening, however, is usually 
small and may close prematurely, so that abscess after abscess is 
formed. It is distinguished from hernia by the fact that it can not 
be returned into the abdomen, and from inflammations of the veins 
and urachus by the absence of swellings forward and backward along 
the lines of these canals. 

Treatment consists in an early opening of the abscess by a free 
incision and the injection twice a day of an astringent antiseptic 
(chlorid of zinc one-half dram, water 1 pint). 

INFLAMMATION OF THE NAVEL VEINS (UMBILICAL PHLEBITIS). 

In this affection of the navel the inflammation may start directly 
from mechanical injury, as in either of the two forms just described, 
but on this are inoculated infective microbes, derived from a retained 
and putrefying afterbirth, an abortion, a metritis, a fetid discharge 



248 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

from the womb, an unhealthy open sore, a case of erysipelas, from 
overcrowding, from filthy floor or bedding, or from an offensive 
accumulation of manure, solid or liquid. As the microbes vary in 
different cases, given outbreaks will differ materially in their nature. 
One is erysipelatoid ; another purulent infection with the tendency to 
secondary abscesses in the joints, liver, lungs, etc.; another is from 
a septic germ and is associated with fetid discharge from the navel 
and general putrid blood poisoning. In estimating the causes of the 
disease we must not omit debility of the calf when the mother has 
been underfed or badly housed or when either she or the fetus has 
been diseased. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms vary. With the chain-form germs 
(streptococci) the navel becomes intensely red, with a very firm, 
painful swelling, ending abruptly at the edges in sound skin and 
extending forward along the umbilical veins. The secondary dis- 
eases are circumscribed, black engorgements (infarctions) or ab- 
scesses of the liver, lungs, kidneys, bowels, or other internal organs, 
and sometimes disease of the joints. 

With the ordinary pus-producing germs (Staphylococcus pyog- 
enes aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) the local inflammation in 
the navel causes a hot, painful swelling, which rapidly advances to 
the formation of matter (pus), and the raw, exposed surface, at first 
bright red, becomes dark red or black, soft, friable, and pultaceous. 
If the pus is white, creamy, and comparatively inoffensive in odor, 
the secondary formations in internal organs and joints are mainly 
of the same purulent character (secondary abscesses). 

If, on the other hand, the discharge is very offensive and the pus 
more serous, watery, or bloody, there is reason to suspect the pres- 
ence of some of the septic bacteria, and the results on the general 
system are a high fever and softening of the liver and spleen and no 
tendency to abscesses of the internal organs. Diarrhea is a common 
symptom, and death ensues early, the blood after death being found 
unclotted. 

Complicated cases are common, and in all alike the umbilical veins 
usually remain open and can be explored by a probe passed at first 
upward and then forward toward the liver. 

Prevention is sought by applying a lotion of carbolic acid or iodin 
solution to the navel string at birth, or it may be smeared with com- 
mon wood tar, which is at once antiseptic and a protective covering 
against germs. In the absence of either a strong decoction of oak 
bark may be used. 

Local treatment consists in the application of antiseptic to the sur- 
face and their injection into the vein. As a lotion carbolic acid, 1 
ounce in a quart of strong decoction of oak bark, should be used, or 
salicylic acid or salol may be sprinkled on the surface. The interior 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 249 

of the vein should be swabbed out with a probe wrapped around 
with cotton wool and dipped in boracic salicylic acid. 

If complications have extended to the liver or other internal 
organs, or the joints, other treatment will be demanded. In acute 
cases of general infection an early fatal result is to be expected. 

PYEMIC AND SEPTICEMIC INFLAMMATION OF JOINTS IN CALVES 

(JOINT ILL). 

This occurs in young calves within the first month after birth. It 
persists in the joints when once attacked, and is usually connected 
with disease of the navel. Rheumatism, on the other hand, rarely 
occurs in a calf under a month old. It tends to shift from joint to 
joint, and is independent of any navel disease. Again, it affects the 
fibrous structures of the joints, and rarely results in the formation 
of white matter, while the affection before named attacks the struc- 
tures outside as well as inside the joints and, above all, the ends of 
the bones, and tends to the destruction and crumbling of their 
tissue, and even to the formation of open sores, through which the 
fragile bones are exposed. The microbes from the unhealthy and 
infected wound in the navel pass into the system through the veins, 
or lymphatics, and form colonies and local inflammations and ab- 
scesses in and around the joints. 

/Symptoms. — The symptoms are the swelling of one or more joints, 
w T hich are very hot and tender. The calf is stiff and lame, lies down 
constantly, and does not care to suck. There is very high fever, 
accelerated breathing and pulse, and there is swelling and purulent 
discharge (often fetid) from the navel. There may be added 
symptoms of disease of the liver, lungs, heart, or bowels, on which 
we need not here delay. The important point is to determine the 
condition of the navel in all such cases of diseased and swollen 
joints beginning in the first month of life, and in all cases of general 
stiffness, for besides the diseases of the internal organs there may be 
abscesses formed among the muscles of the trunk, though the joints 
appear sound. Cases of this kind, if they do not speedily die, tend 
to become emaciated and perish later in a state of weakness and 
exhaustion. 

Prevention. — Prevention must begin with the purity of the build- 
ings and the navel, as noted in the last article. 

Treatment. — Treatment is in the main antiseptic. The slighter 
forms may be painted daily with tincture of iodin, or an ointment of 
biniodid of mercury (1 dram) and lard (2 ounces) may be rubbed on 
the affected joints daily until they are blistered. In case of swellings 
containing matter, this may be drawn through the nozzle of a hypo- 
dermic syringe and the following solution injected : Compound tinc- 
ture of iodin, 1 dram; distilled (or boiled) water, 2 ounces. Inter- 



250 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

nally the calf may take 5 grains quinin twice daily and 15 grains 
hyposulphite of soda, or 20 grains salicylate of soda three times 
a day. 

UMBILICAL HERNIA (BREACH AT THE NAVEL). 

This may exist at birth from imperfect closure of the muscles 
around the opening; it may even extend backward for a distance, 
from the two sides failing to come together. Apart from this, the 
trouble rarely appears after the calf has been some time on solid 
feed, as the paunch then extends down to the right immediately 
over the navel, and thus forms an internal pad, preventing the 
protrusion of intestine. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of umbilical hernia are a soft swelling 
at the navel, with contents that usually gurgle on handling, and can 
be entirely returned into the abdomen by pressure. The diseases of 
the navel hitherto considered have not gurgling contents and can 
not be completely returned into the abdomen. The only exception 
in the case of the hernia is when the walls of the sac have become 
greatly thickened. These will, of course, remain as a swelling after 
the bowel has been returned; and when the protruding bowel has 
contracted permanent adhesion to the sac, it is impossible to return 
it fully without first severing that connection. 

Treatment. — Treatment is not always necessary. A small hernia, 
like an egg, in a new-born calf, usually recovers of itself as the 
animal changes its diet to solid feed and has the paunch fully 
developed as an internal pad. 

In other cases apply a leather pad 8 inches square attached around 
the body by two elastic bands connected with its four corners, and 
an elastic band passing from its front border to a collar encircling 
the neck, and two other elastic bands from the neck collar along the 
two sides of the body to the two bands passing up over the back. 
(PL XXIV, fig. 6.) 

For small hernias nitric acid may be used to destroy the skin and 
cause such swelling as to close the orifice before the skin is sepa- 
rated. For a mass like a large goose egg one-half ounce of the acid 
may be rubbed in for three minutes. No more must be applied for 
15 days. For large masses this is inapplicable, and with too much 
loss of skin the orifice may fail to close and the bowels may escape. 

The application of a clamp like those used in castration is a most 
effective method, but great care must be taken to see that all the 
contents of the sac are returned so that none may be inclosed in the 
clamp. (PI. XXIV, fig. 7.) 

Another most effective resort is to make a saturated solution of com- 
mon salt, filter and boil it, and when cool inject under the skin (not 
into the sac) on each side of the hernia a dram of the fluid. A band- 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 251 

age may then be put around the body. In 10 hours an enormous 
swelling will have taken place, pressing back the bowel into the abdo- 
men. When this subsides the wound will have closed. 

DROPSY OF THE NAVEL. 

A sac formed at the navel, by contained liquid accumulated by rea- 
son of sucking by other calves, is unsightly and sometimes injurious. 
After making sure that it is simply a dropsical collection it may be 
deeply punctured at various points with a large-sized lancet or knife, 
fomented with hot water, and then daily treated with a strong decoc- 
tion of white-oak bark. 

BLUE DISEASE (CYANOSIS). 

This appearing in the calf at birth is due to the orifice between the 
two auricles of the heart (foramen ovale) remaining too open, allow- 
ing the nonaerated (venous) blood to mix with the aerated (arterial) 
blood, and it is beyond the reach of treatment. It is recognized by 
the blueness of the eyes, nose, mouth, and other mucous membranes, 
the coldness of the surface, and the extreme sensitiveness to cold. 

CONSTIPATION. 

At birth the bowels of the calf contain the meconium, a tenacious, 
gluey, brownish-yellow material largely derived from the liver, which 
must be expelled before they can start their functions normally. 
The first milk of the cow (colostrum, beestings), rich in albumin and 
salts, is nature's laxative to expel this now offensive material and 
should never be withheld from the calf. If, for lack of this, from the 
dry feeding of the cow, or from any other cause, the calf is costive, 
straining violently without passage, lying down and rising as in colic, 
and failing in appetite, no time should be lost in giving relief by an 
ounce dose of castor oil, assisting its action by injections of soapsuds 
or oil. Whatever meconium is within reach of the finger should be 
carefully removed. It is also important to give the cow a sloppy, 
laxative diet. 

INDIGESTION. 

This may occur from many different causes, as costiveness; a too 
liberal supply of milk ; milk too rich ; the furnishing of the milk of a 
cow long after calving to a very young calf ; allowing a calf to suck 
the first milk of a cow that has been hunted, driven by road, shipped 
by rail, or otherwise violently excited ; allowing the calf too long time 
between meals, so that impelled by hunger it quickly overloads and 
clogs the stomach ; feeding from the pail milk that has been held over 
in unwashed (unscalded) buckets, so that it is fermented and spoiled; 
feeding the milk of cows kept on unwholesome feed; keeping the 



252 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

calves in cold, damp, dark, filthy, or bad-smelling pens; feeding the 
calves on artificial mixtures containing too much starchy matter ; or 
overfeeding the calves on artificial feed that may be appropriate 
enough in smaller quantity. The licking of hair from themselves or 
others and its formation into balls in the stomach will cause obstinate 
indigestion in the calf. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms are dullness, indisposition to move, 
uneasiness, eructations of gas from the stomach, sour breath, entire 
loss of appetite, lying down and rising as if in pain, fullness of the 
abdomen, which gives out a drumlike sound when tapped with the 
fingers. 

The costiveness may be marked at first, but soon it gives place to 
diarrhea, by which the offensive matters may be carried off and health 
restored. In other cases it becomes aggravated, merges into inflam- 
mation of the bowels, fever sets in, and the calf gradually sinks. 

Prevention. — Prevention consists in avoiding the causes enumer- 
ated above or any others that may be detected. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists in first clearing away the irritant 
present in the bowels. For this purpose 1 or 2 ounces of castor oil 
with 20 drops of laudanum may be given, and if the sour eructa- 
tions are marked a tablespoonful of limewater or one-fourth ounce 
calcined magnesia may be given and repeated two or three times a 
day. If the disorder continues after the removal of the irritant, a 
]arge tablespoonful of rennet, or 30 grains of pepsin, may be given 
at each meal along with a teaspoonful of tincture of gentian. Any 
return of constipation must be treated by injections of warm water 
and soap, while the persistence of diarrhea must be met as advised 
under the article following this. In case of the formation of loose 
hair balls inclosing milk undergoing putrid fermentation, temporary 
benefit may be obtained by giving a tablespoonful of vegetable char- 
coal three or four times a day, but the only real remedy is to cut 
the paunch open and extract them. At this early age they may be 
found in the third or even the fourth stomach ; in the adult they are 
confined to the first two and are comparatively harmless. 

DIARRHEA (SCOURING) IN CALVES (SIMPLE AND CONTAGIOUS). 

Ar stated in the last article, scouring is a common result of indi- 
gestion, and at first may be nothing more than an attempt of nature 
to relieve the stomach and bowels of offensive and irritating contents. 
As the indigestion persists, however, the fermentations going on in 
the undigested masses become steadily more complex and active, and 
what was at first the mere result of irritation or suspended digestion 
comes to be a genuine contagious disease, in which the organized fer- 
ments (bacteria) propagate the affection from animal to animal and 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 253 

from herd to herd. More than once I have seen such epizootic diar- 
rhea start on the headwaters of a creek and, traveling along that 
stream, follow the watershed and attack the herds supplied with 
water from the contaminated channel. In the same way the disease, 
once started in a cow stable, is liable to persist for years, or until 
the building has been thoroughly cleansed and disinfected. It may 
be carried into a healthy stable by the introduction of a cow brought 
from an infected stable when she is closely approaching calving. 
Another method of its introduction is by the purchase of a calf from 
a herd where the infection exists. 

In enumerating the other causes of this disease we may refer to 
those noted above as inducing indigestion. As a primary considera- 
tion any condition which lowers the vitality or vigor of the calf must 
be accorded a prominent place among factors which, apart from con- 
tagion, contribute to start the disease de novo. Other things being 
equal, the strong, vigorous races are the least predisposed to the 
malady, and in this respect the compact form, the healthy coat, the 
clear eye, and the bold, active carriage are desirable. Even the color 
of the hair is not unimportant, as in the same herd I have found a 
far greater number of victims among the light colors (light yellow, 
light brown) than among those of a darker tint. This constitutional 
predisposition to indigestion and diarrhea is sometimes fostered by 
too close breeding, without taking due account of the maintenance 
of a robust constitution; hence animals that are very much inbred 
need to be especially observed and cared for unless their inherent 
vigor has been thoroughly attested. 

The surroundings of the calf are powerful influences. Calves kept 
indoors suffer to a greater extent than those running in the open air 
and having the invigorating influences of sunshine, pure air, and 
exercise ; close, crowded, filthy, bad-smelling buildings are especially 
causative of the complaint. The presence in the air of carbon dioxid, 
the product of breathing, and of the fetid, gaseous products of decom- 
posing dung and urine diminish by about one- fourth of their volume 
the life-giving oxygen and in the same ratio hinder the aeration of 
the blood and the maintenance of vigorous health. Worse than this, 
such fetid gases are usually direct poisons to the animal breathing 
them; for example, sulphureted hydrogen (hydrogen sulphid 2 SH 2 ) 
and various alkaloids (ptomaines) and toxins (neutral poisonous 
principles) produced in the filth fermentations. These lower the 
general health and stamina, impair digestion, and by leading to the 
accumulation in stomach and bowels of undigested materials they 
lay the foundation for offensive fermentations within these organs 
and consequent irritation, poisoning, and diarrhea. They further 
weaken the system so that it can no longer resist and overcome the 
trouble. 



254 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



The condition of the nursing cow and her milk is another potent 
cause of trouble. The feed of the cow is important. The influence 
of this is shown in the following tables : 

Influence of feed on milk. {'From Becquerel and Vernois.) 







Casein 








Character of feed. 


Water. 


and ex- 
tractive 
matter. 


Milk 
sugar. 


Butter. 


Salts. 


Cows on winter feed: 


Parts in 


Parts in 


Parts in 


Parts in 


Parts in 


Trefoil or lueern, 12-13 pounds; oat straw, 9-10 


1,000. 


1,000. 


1,000. 


1,000. 


1,000. 


pounds; beets, 7 pounds; water, 2 buckets 


871.26 


47.81 


33.47 


42.07 


5.34 


Cows on summer feed: 












Green trefoil, lueern, maize, barley, grass, 2 buckets 












water 


859.56 


54.70 


36.38 


42.76 


6.80 


Goat's milk on different feed: 














858.68 
888. 77 
844.90 


47.38 
33.81 
35.14 


35.47 
38.02 
36.90 


52.54 
33.68 

56.87 


5.93 




5.72 




6.18 







In these examples the deterioration of the milk in casein on the less 
nutritious winter feeding is very marked, although the relative 
quantity of butter remains almost unchanged. In the case of the goat 
the result is even more striking, the beet diet giving a very large 
decrease of both casein and butter and an increase of milk sugar. 

The second table following, condensed from the Iowa Agricultural 
Experiment Station Bulletin, gives the results in butter and total 
solids when the same cows were fed on different rations in succession. 
Each cow was fed a daily ration of 12 pounds corn fodder and 4 pounds 
clover hay, besides the test diet of (1) 12^ pounds corn-and-cob meal, 
and (2) 10 pounds sugar meal — a product of the glocuse manufac- 
ture. This special feed was given seven days before the commence- 
ment of each test period to obviate the effects of transition. The 
analyses of the special rations are given below : 

Analyses of special rations. 



Constituents. 



Corn-and- 
cob meal. 


Sugar 
meal. 


Per cent. 


Per cent. 


13. 37 


6.10 


1.43 


1.17 


2.81 


11.16 


65.99 


52.66 


8.03 


8.64 


8.37 


20.27 



Moisture 

Salts 

Fat 

Carbohydrates (heat formers) 
Woody fiber 

Proteids (flesh formers) 



The great excess of fat and nitrogenous or flesh-forming principles 
in the sugar meal is very evident. 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 
Influence of feed on milk. (Ioioa station.) 



255 



Animal. 


Milk. 


Fat. 


Solids. 


Fat. 


Solids. 


Ratio of fat 

to solids not 

fat. 


Grade Shorthorn cow: 


Pounds. 


P.ct. 


Per ct. 


Pounds. 


Pounds. 




First period, 21 days, corn-and-cob meal 


631.25 


3.43 


11.57 


21.67 


73.02 


422.0:1,000 


Second period, 21 days, sugar meal 


641.50 


4.04 


12.53 


25.93 


83.38 


476.2:1,000 


Third period, 21 days, corn-and-cob meal. . . 


559. 00 


3.22 


11.86 


17.97 


66.32 


371.7:1,000 


Grade Shorthorn cow: 














First period, 21 days, corn-and-cob meal 


604.75 


3.57 


11.95 


21.56 


72.28 


425.1:1,000 


Second period, 21 days, sugar meal 


582.00 


3.91 


12.37 


22.74 


72.57 


456.3:1,000 


Third period, 21 days, corn-and-cob meal. . . 


527.00 


3.37 


12.05 


17.78 


63.48 


389.1:1,000 


Grade Shorthorn cow: 














First period, 21 days, sugar meal 


753.50 


3.97 


12.43 


29.94 


93.67 


469.8:1,000 


Second period, 21 days, com-and-cob meal.. 


601. 50 


3.15 


11.45 


18.97 


68.89 


380.0:1,000 


Third period, 21 days, sugar meal 


560. 50 


3.85 


12.16 


21.58 


68.16 


463.3:1,000 


Grade Holstein cow: 














First period, 21 days, sugar meal 


487. 50 


4.15 


13.27 


20.25 


64.69 


455.6:1,000 
382.3:1,000 


Second period, 21 days, corn-and-cob meal. . 


379.00 


3.51 


12.69 


13.30 


48.09 


Third period, 21 days, sugar meal 


374. 50 


3.72 


13. 01 


13.95 


48.74 


401.0:1,000 







Here we see in every instance a marked relative increase of the but- 
ter, and to a less extent of the other milk solids whenever the sugar 
meal — rich in fat and albuminoids — was furnished. The opposite 
theory having been largely taught, it becomes needful thus to sustain 
the old and well-founded belief of the dairymen. 

Not only does the richness of the milk vary with the nature of the 
food, but it varies also according to the time of the day when it is 
drawn, the morning milk giving 7-| per cent of cream and the evening 
milk 9^ per cent (Hassall). Boedecker found that the morning 
milk had 10 per cent of solids, while the evening milk had 13 per cent. 
Again, the milk first drawn at any milking is always poorer than the 
last drawn. The first may have only one-half, or in extreme cases 
one-fourth, the cream of the last. Once more, when the cow is in heat 
the milk becomes richer in solids (casein and butter), and contains 
granular and white blood cells like the colostrum, and often disagrees 
with the young animal living on it. Now, while these various modifi- 
cations in the amount of solid matters may prove harmless to a strong 
and vigorous calf, they can easily be the occasion of intestinal dis- 
order in a weaker one, or in one with health already somewhat im- 
paired by sickness, exposure, or unwholesome buildings. The casein 
of the cow's milk coagulates in one solid mass, and is much less easily 
penetrated by the digesting fluids than the fine, flaky coagula of 
woman's or mare's milk. An excess of casein, therefore, thrown on 
an already overtaxed stomach can all the more readily induce dis- 
order. So it is with butter fat. While a most important element in 
nutrition, it may be present in the stomach in such quantity as to 
interfere with the action of the gastric juice on the casein, and with 



256 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the interruption of the natural stomach digestion the fats themselves 
undergo decomposition with the production of offensive and irritat- 
ing fatty acids. 

The milk of the very young ccw is usually more watery than that of 
the mature animal, and that of the old cow has a greater liability to 
become acid. It varies much with the breed, the Channel Island 
cattle being notorious for the relatively large quantity of cream, 
while the Holsteins, Ayrshires, and Shorthorns are remarkable rather 
for the quantity of casein. The milk of cows fed on potatoes and grass 
is very poor and watery ; that from cows fed on cabbage or Swedish 
turnips has a disagreeable taste and odor (from the former an offen- 
sive liquid has been distilled). 

Cows fed on overkept, fermen ed, and soured rations have acid 
milk, which readily turns and coagulates. Thus old, long-kept brew- 
er's grains, swill, the refuse of glucose factories, and ensilage which 
has been put up too green all act in this way. The same may come 
from disease in the cow's udder, or any general disease of the cow 
with attendant fever, and in all such cases the tendency is to rapid 
change and unwholesomeness. If the milk is drawn and fed from 
a pail, there is the added danger of all sorts of poisonous ferments 
getting into it and multiplying ; it may be from the imperfect cleans- 
ing and scalding of the pail ; from rinsing the pails with water that 
is impure; from the entrance of bacterial ferments floating in the 
filthy atmosphere of the stable, or from the entrance of the volatile 
chemical products of fermentation. 

In addition to the dangers coming through the milk, the calf suf- 
fers in its digestive powers from any temporary illness, and among 
others from the excitement attendant on the cutting of teeth, and 
impaired digestion means fermentations in the undigested masses 
and the excessive production of poisonous ptomaines and toxins. 

Whatever may be the starting or predisposing cause of this malady, 
when once established it is liable to perpetuate itself by contagion 
and to prove a veritable plague in a herd or a district. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of a diarrhea may appear so promptly 
after birth as to lead to the idea that the cause already existed in the 
body of the calf, and it usually shows itself before the end of the 
second week. It may be preceded by constipation, as in retained 
meconium, or by fetid eructations and colicky pains, as in acute indi- 
gestion. The tail is stained by the liquid dejections, which are at 
first simply soft and mixed with mucus with a sour odor, accom- 
panied with a peculiar and characteristic fetor (suggesting rotten 
cheese) , which continually grows worse. The quantity of water and 
mucus steadily increases, the normal predominance of fatty matters 
becoming modified by the presence of considerable undigested casein, 
which is not present in the normal feces, and in acute cases death 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 257 

may result in one or two days from the combined drain on the sys- 
tem and the poisoning by the absorbed products of the decomposi- 
tion in the stomach and bowels. When the case is prolonged the 
passages, at first 5 or 6 a day, increase to 15 or 20, and pass with 
more and more straining, so that they are projected from the animal 
in a liquid stream. The color of the feces, at first yellow, becomes a 
lighter grayish yellow or a dirty white (hence the name white scour), 
and the fetor becomes intolerable. 

At first the calf retains its appetite, but as the severity of the 
disease increases the animals shows less and less disposition to suck, 
and has lost all vivacity, lying dull and listless, and, when raised, 
walking weakly and unsteadily. Flesh is lost rapidly, the hair stands 
erect, the skin gets dry and scurfy, the nose is dry and hot, or this 
condition alternates with a moist and cool one. By this time the 
mouth and skin, as well as the breath and dung, exhale the peculiar, 
penetrating, sour, offensive odor, and the poor calf has become an 
object of disgust to all that approach it. At first, and unless inflam- 
mation of the stomach and bowels supervene (and unless the affec- 
tion has started in indigestion and colic), the belly is not bloated or 
painful on pressure, symptoms of acute colicky pains are absent, and 
the bowels do not rumble; neither are bubbles of gas mingled with 
the feces. The irritant products of the intestinal fermentations may, 
however, irritate and excoriate the skin around the anus, which 
becomes red, raw, and broken out in sores for some distance. Simi- 
larly the rectum, exposed by reason of the relaxed condition of the 
anus, or temporarily in straining to pass the liquid dejection, is of 
a more or less deep red, and it may be ulcerated. Fever, with rapid 
pulse and increased breathing and temperature, usually comes on 
with the very fetid character of the feces and is more pronounced 
as the bowels become inflamed, the abdomen sore to the touch and 
tucked up, and the feces more watery and even mixed with blood. 

Prevention. — The prevention of these cases is the prevention of 
constipation and indigestion, with all their varied causes as above 
enumerated, the selection of a strong, vigorous stock, and, above all, 
the combating of contagion, especially in the separation of the sick 
from the healthy, and in the thorough purification and disinfection 
of the buildings. The cleansing and sweetening of all drains, the 
removal of dung heaps, and the washing and scraping of floors and 
walls, followed by a liberal application of chlorid of lime (bleaching 
powder), 4 ounces to the gallon, are indicated. Great care must be 
exercised in the feeding of the cow to have sound and wholesome 
feed and water, so apportioned as to make the milk neither too rich 
nor too poor, and to her health, so that the calf may be saved from 
the evil consequences of poisonous principles that may be produced 
33071°— 16 17 



258 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

in the body of the cow. The calves should be carefully kept apart 
from all calving cows and their discharges. Similarly each calf 
must have special attention to see that its nurse gives milk which 
agrees with it, and that this is furnished at suitable times. If alloAved 
to suck, it should either be left with the cow or be fed three times a 
day. If it becomes hungry twice a day, it is more liable to overload 
and derange the stomach, and if left too long hungry it is tempted 
to take in unsuitable and unwholesome feed, for which its stomach 
is as yet unprepared. So, if fed from the pail, it is safer to do so 
three times daily than twice. There should be the utmost cleanliness 
of feeding dishes, and the feeder must be ever on the alert to prevent 
the strong and hungry from drinking the milk of the weaker in 
addition to their own. In case the cow nurse has been subjected 
to any great excitement by reason of travel, hunting, or carrying, 
the first milk she yields thereafter should be used for some other 
purpose and only the second allowed to the calf. Indeed, one and 
all of the conditions indicated above as causes should be judiciously 
guarded against. 

Treatment. — Treatment varies according to the nature and stage 
of the disease. When the disease is not widespread, but isolated 
cases only occur, it may be assumed to be a simple diarrhea and is 
easily dealt with. The first object is to remove the irritant matter 
from stomach and bowels, and for this 1 or 2 ounces of castor oil 
may be given, according to the size of the calf. Reduce the milk by 
one-half or two-thirds. If the stools smell particularly sour, the milk 
may be replaced by 1 ounce calcined magnesia, and in any case a 
tablespoonful or two of limewater must be given with each meal. 
Great harm is often done by giving opium and astringents at the 
outset. These serve merely to bind up the bowels and retain the irri- 
tant source of the trouble ; literally, " to shut up the wolf in the sheep- 
fold." When the offending agents have been expelled in this way, 
carminatives and demulcent agents may be given — 1 dram of anise 
water, 1 dram nitrate of bismuth, and 1 dram of gum arabic, three 
times a day. Under such course the consistency of the stools should 
increase until in a day or two they become natural. 

If, however, the outbreak is more general and evidently the result 
of contagion, the first consideration is to remove all sources of such 
contamination. Test the milk of the cow with blue litmus paper; 
if it reddens, reject the milk until by sound, dry feeding, with per- 
haps a course of hyposulphite of soda and gentian root, the milk is 
made alkaline. The castor oil or magnesia will be demanded to clear 
away the (now infecting) irritants, but they should be combined with 
antiseptics, and, while the limewater and the carminative mixture 
may still be used, a most valuable addition will be found in the 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 259 

following: Calomel, 10 grains; prepared chalk, 1 ounce; creosote, 1 
teaspoonful ; mix. divide into 10 parts, and give One four times a day, 
Or the following may be given four times a day : One dram Dover's 
powder, 6 grains powdered ipecacuanha ; mix, divide into 10 equal 
parts. Injections of solutions of gum arabic are often useful, and if 
the anus is red and excoriated, one-half dram of copperas may be 
added to each pint of the gummy solution. All the milk given must 
be boiled, and if that does not agree, eggs made into an emulsion 
with barley water may be substituted. Small doses (tablespoonful) 
of port wine are often useful from the first, and as the feces lose 
their watery character and become more consistent, tincture of gen- 
tian in doses of 2 teaspoonfuls may be given three or four times a 
day. Counterirritants, such as mustard, ammonia, or oil of turpen- 
tine, may be rubbed on the abdomen when it becomes tender to the 
touch. 

ACUTE CONTAGIOUS SCOURING IN THE NEWBORN. 

The most violent and deadly form of diarrhea in the newborn calf 
deserves a special mention. This may appear immediately after 
birth, and shows itself almost invariably within the first or second 
day. The most intense symptoms of white scour are complicated by 
great dullness, weakness, and prostration, sunken eyes, retracted 
belly, short, hurried breathing, and very low temperature, the calf 
lying on its side, with the head resting on the ground, lethargic and 
unconscious or regardless of all around it. The bowel discharges 
are profuse, yellowish white, and very offensive. As a rule death 
ensues within 24 to 36 hours. 

A marked characteristic of this form of illness is that it attacks 
almost every calf born in the herd, or in the building, rather, and if 
the calf escapes an attack in the first two or three days of its life it 
usually survives. Those that recover from an attack, however, are 
liable one or two weeks later to suffer from an infective inflammation 
of the lungs. The infection clings to a stable for years, in many 
cases rendering it impossible to preserve and raise the calves. It 
has frequently coincided with abortions and failures to conceive in 
the same herd, so that it has been thought that the same infective 
germ produces one type of abortion. On the other hand, the removal 
of the calving cow from the herd to calve in a separate building, 
hitherto unused and therefore uninfected, usually effects the escape 
and survival of the offspring. 

The disease has been traced by Nocard and Lignieres to a small 
bacillus having the general characters of those that produce hemor- 
rhagic septicemia, which is usually combined with a variety of 
others, but is in some cases alone and in pure culture, especially in 



260 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

the joints. The theory of Lignieres is that this bacillus is the pri- 
mary offender, and that once introduced it so depresses the vital 
powers of the system and tissue cells that the healthy resistance to 
other bacteria is impaired or suspended, and hence the general and 
deadly invasion of the latter. 

Inoculations with this bacillus killed guinea pigs or rabbits in 6 
to 18 hours, and calves in 30 hours, with symptoms and lesions of 
hemorrhagic septicemia, including profuse fetid diarrhea. 

The predominance of the early and deadly lesions in the alimen- 
tary tract would seem to imply infection through the feed, and the 
promptitude of the attack after birth, together with the frequent 
coincidence of contagious abortion in the herd, suggest the presence 
of the germ in the cow ; yet the escape of the calf when the cow 
calves in a fresh building is equally suggestive of the infection 
through germs laid up in the building. This conclusion is further 
sustained by the observation that the bacillus evidently enters by 
the raw, unhealed navel, that it is diffused in the blood, and that a 
very careful preservation of the navel against infection gives im- 
munity from attack. 

Prevention. — The disease is so certainty and speedily fatal that it 
is hopeless to expect recovery, and therefore prevention is the ra- 
tional resort. 

When a herd is small, the removal of the dam to a clean, unused 
stable a few days before calving and her retention there for a week 
usually succeeds. It is in the large herd that the disease is mainly 
to be dreaded, however, and in this it is impossible to furnish new 
and pure stables for each successive group of two or three calving 
cows. The thorough disinfection of the general stable ought to suc- 
ceed, yet I have seen the cleanest and purest stable repeatedly dis- 
infected with corrosive sublimate without stopping the malady. It 
would appear as if the germ lodged on the surface or in the bowels 
of the cow and tided the infection over the period of stable disinfec- 
tion. Though insufficient of themselves, the supply of separate 
calving boxes and the frequent thorough cleaning and disinfection 
of both these and the stables should not be neglected. The most 
important measure, however, is the disinfection of the navel. 

The cow should be furnished with abundance of drjr, clean bed- 
ding, sprinkled with a solution of carbolic acid. As soon as calving 
sets in the tail and hips and anus and vulva should be sponged with 
a carbolic-acid solution (one-half ounce to the quart), and the vagina 
injected with a weaker solution (2 drams to the quart). Fresh car- 
bolized bedding should be constantly supplied, so that the calf may 
be dropped on that and not on soaked litter nor manure. The navel 
string should be at once tied with a cord that has been taken from a 



DISEASES OF YOUNG CALVES. 261 

strong solution of carbolic acid. The stump of the cord and the 
adjacent skin should then be washed with the following solution: 
Iodin, one-half dram ; iodid of potassium, one-half dram ; water, 1 
quart. When dry it may be covered with a coating of collodion or 
tar, each containing 1 per cent of iodin. 

Whenever a calf shows any sign of scouring it should be instantly 
removed to another pen and building, and the vacated one should 
be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Different attendants should 
take care of the sound calves and the infected ones, and all utensils, 
litter, etc., kept scrupulously apart. 

After one week the healthy calves may usually be safely herded 
together, or they may be safely placed in the cow stable. 

OTHER AILMENTS OF THE CALF. 

Among these may be named several congenital imperfections, such 
as imperforate anus, vulva, or prepuce, which are to be recognized by 
the inability to pass dung or urine, in spite of straining, and the 
formation of swellings in the anus, vulva, or sheath. Each must be 
carefully incised with the knife, taking care not to injure the muscles 
which circumscribe the respective openings; also tongue-tie, in 
which the thin, flaccid, mucous membrane passing from the median 
line of the lower surface of the tongue binds the latter too closely 
to the floor of the mouth and renders the tongue unfit for gathering 
in the food in after life. This must be cut with knife or scissors, 
so as to give the tongue a reasonable degree of liberty. 

Aphtha, or thrush, is another trouble of the sucking calf , showing 
itself as a white, curdy elevation on the tongue, lips, cheeks, or gums, 
and when detached leaving a raw, red, angry surface. It is due to 
the growth of a vegetable parasite long recognized as the O'idium 
albicans {Saccharomyces albicans). It is easily removed by rubbing 
with powdered borax, but inasmuch as other colonies are liable to 
start either in the mouth or in the pharynx, gullet, or stomach, it is 
well to give a dose of one-half dram of hyposulphite of soda in 
water day by day for several days. 

Rickets is not a common disease in calves, and comes on, if at all, 
later than those we have been considering. It consists in softening 
and friability of the bones from a deficiency of lime salts, and ap- 
pears to be mainly connected with an inherited weakness of consti- 
tution, unsuitable feeding, cold, close, damp buildings, microbian 
infection, and other conditions inimical to health. The prevention 
and treatment of rickets consists essentially in the improvement of 
the digestion and general health ; hence sunshine, open air, exercise, 
nourishing food, and tonics are indicated. (See p. 265.) 



BONES: DISEASES AND ACCIDENTS. 

By V. T. Atkinson, V. S. 
[Revised by John R. Mohler, V. M. D.] 

Some knowledge of the skeleton is advisable to facilitate the study 
of diseases of bones and the accidental injuries to which they are 
exposed. The skeleton of the adult ox is made up of the following 
number of bones: 

Spinal column 45 

Head 28 

Chest 27 

Shoulder 2 — 1 on each side. 

Arm 2 — 1 on each side. 

Forearm 4 — 2 on each side. 

Forefoot 40 — 20 on each side. 

Pelvis 2 — 1 on each side. 

Thigh 2 — 1 on each side. 

Leg 6 — 3 on each side. 

Hind foot , 38 — 19 on each side. 

Total 196 

Without attempting to burden the reader with the technical names 
and a scientific classification of each, it appears desirable to describe 
some of the characteristics of forms in general and of a few classes 
into which they may be divided, leaving the special study of in- 
dividual bones to the illustrations of the skeleton (PI. XXV), which 
will serve better than a great deal of writing to fix in the mind of the 
reader the location, relation, and function of each one. In early fetal 
life the place of bone is supplied by temporary cartilage, which 
gradually changes to bone. For convenience of study, bones may be 
said to be composed of a form of dense connective tissue impregnated 
with lime salts and to contain two elementary constituents — the 
organic or animal and the inorganic or earthy. In young animals 
the former predominates ; with increasing years the relative propor- 
tions of the two change, so that when advanced age is reached the 
proportion of inorganic far exceeds the organic. The gradual change 
with advancing years from organic to inorganic has the effect of 
rendering the bone harder and more brittle, and though it is stronger, 
the reparative process is slower when injury does occur. 

The bones are nourished in two ways: First, from the outside 
through their covering, called the periosteum — the thin, strong mem- 
262 



bones: diseases and accidents. 263 

brane that covers every part of the bone except the articular surface 
of the joints; and, secondly, from within through the minute 
branches of blood vessels which pass into the bones through holes 
(foramina) on their surface and are distributed in the soft structure 
(medulla) of the inside. The structure of the bone is divided into 
two parts — the compact or hard material of the outside, which gives 
strength and is more abundant in the shafts of long bones, and the 
cancellated, softer tissue of the inside, which affords accommodation 
to the blood vessels necessary for the nourishment of that part of 
the structure. 

In shape, bones are divided into three classes — long, flat, and short. 
The long bones are the ribs and those mostly found in the limbs ; the 
flat bones are found in the head, the shoulder, and the pelvis; the 
short bones in the spinal column and in the lower portions of the 
limbs. 

With this little introduction, which seems almost indispensable, we 
will proceed at once to the consideration of diseases of bones, for they 
undergo diseased processes like any other living tissue. 

OSTEITIS. 

Inflammation of the compact structure of bones (osteitis) may be 
either acute or chronic, and may involve the whole extent of the bone 
affected or may be confined to only a portion of it. This inflamma- 
tion results from injury, such as concussion, laceration, or a crushing 
bruise; also from specific influences, as in actinomycosis (lumpy jaw) 
or cases of foul foot. The latter affection frequently involves the 
bones, and for this reason the pastern is the most frequent seat of 
osteitis. There is dull pain on pressure and a painful swelling of 
bone when pus is present. Suppuration may involve the overlying 
soft tissues, causing an abscess, which may finally break through the 
skin. The inflammatory condition sometimes assumes an ulcerated 
form (caries) or from interrupted nutrition of the part deprived of 
the blood necessary to its nourishment may cause death of a large 
section of bone (necrosis) ; this dead fragment (sequestrum), becom- 
ing separated from the main portion of bone, acts as a foreign body. 

Treatment. — This consists in resting the affected part and in giving 
vent at the earliest possible moment to whatever pus may be present. 
Free drainage should then be maintained. Apply dressings of lactic 
acid or inject with 5 per cent zinc-chlorid solution and pack with 
tampons of cotton soaked in antiseptic solutions. A laxative to keep 
the bowels moving freely is the only internal treatment necessary. 

PERIOSTITIS. 

This disease is an inflammation of the external covering of bone 
(periosteum) and is usually produced by wounds, pressure, or crush- 



264 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ing the part. The periosteum is well supplied with sensitive nerve 
endings and when inflamed is very sensitive to pressure and may 
cause lameness. This condition is often difficult to determine, and 
even an acute observer may fail to locate the point of its existence. 
There are three forms of periostitis — aseptic, purulent, and fibrous. 

Aseptic periostitis when it becomes chronic causes such a bony 
enlargement (exostosis) as is seen in the callous formation following 
the fracture of a bone. The formation of such a tumor or enlarge- 
ment on the surface of a bone is liable to- occur in any part of the 
bone covered with periosteum, and when found near a joint involv- 
ing two or more bones it is liable to result in their union (anchylosis). 

Treatment. — Applications of cold water to check the inflammatory 
processes is indicated for the first few days in aseptic periostitis, 
followed by hot fomentations to hurry resorption of fluids. Mas- 
sage should then be given with camphor ointment, mercurial oint- 
ment, soap liniment, or Lugol's solution. In the chronic form point 
firing or a biniodid-of-mercury blister will be found beneficial. 

Purulent periostitis follows wounds which reach the periosteum 
and become infected, as observed in compound fractures, or it may 
result from advancing purulent conditions in neighboring structures, 
as in foul foot. It may also occur in the course of an infectious dis- 
ease, when small abscesses are formed under the periosteum (sub- 
periosteal abscess). It may lead to necrosis of the bone or a fistulous 
track from the bone to the surface. There is usually much pain and 
fever, and the odor from the wound is offensive. 

Treatment. — In this form of periostitis the periosteum should be 
freely incised, followed either by continuous irrigation or frequent 
injection of the wound with antiseptic solutions. 

Fibrous periostitis. — This form of the disease consists in the 
thickening of the outer layer of the periosteum from the inflamma- 
tion reaching it from neighboring structures. This newly formed 
fibrous tissue may become ossified or may transmit the inflammation 
to the deeper bony structures. It is frequently seen in cases in which 
there has been an intense inflammation of the skin close to an 
underlying bone. 

Treatment. — The treatment should be the same as that recom- 
mended for aseptic periostitis. 

OSTEOMYELITIS. 

This term refers to an inflammation of the bone marrow, which is 
most commonly seen following the bacterial infection of a compound 
fracture and usually results in pus formation. The bone is melted 
away and pus escapes from the bone under the periosteum, involving 
the soft tissues. It is principally confined to the long bones and sel- 
dom affects more than one. 



bones: diseases and accidents. 265 

Treatment. — The bone should be opened for the purpose of curet- 
ting out the diseased portion of the marrow cavity and removing all 
the necrotic pieces of bone. This should be undertaken only by a 
competent A^eterinarian. The after treatment consists in tamponing 
the wound with pledgets of iodoform gauze or injecting a 2 per cent 
solution of sulphuric acid or hydrochloric acid of similar strength or 
pure lactic acid or a mixture of iodoform 1 part and glycerin 4 parts. 
The wound in the soft tissue should be kept open until the cavity in 
the bone has filled with granulation tissue. 

RICKETS. 

This disease, also called " rachitis," is an inflammatory affection of 
young, growing bones, and mostly involves the ribs and long bones of 
the legs. It consists in a failure of the organism to deposit lime 
salts in bone, and for this reason the bones do not ossify so rapidly as 
they should. The cartilaginous ends of the bones grow rapidly, but 
ossification does not keep pace with it. The bones become long and 
their ends bend at the joints, the legs become crooked, and the joints 
are large and irregular. All the bones affected with this disease are 
thicker than normal, and the gait of the animal is stiff and painful. 
A row of bony enlargements may be found where the ribs articulate 
with the cartilages connecting them with the breastbone and is called 
the "beaded line." A catarrhal condition of the digestive tract is 
usually observed. The disease may result from an inherited weak- 
ness of constitution, poor hygienic surroundings, or improper diet. 
Calves and foals are less frequently affected with rickets than dogs 
and pigs. 

Treatment. — The affected animal should have nourishing feed 
containing a proper quantity of lime salts. Outdoor exercise and 
plenty of fresh air are indispensable. Limewater should be given 
once daily for drinking purposes and ground bone meal mixed with 
the food. Phosphorus, one-fortieth of a grain, and calcium phos- 
phate, 1 dram, given twice daily to a 2-month-old calf, and propor- 
tionally increased for older animals, has proved efficacious in this 
disease. In some cases the long bones of the limbs are too weak at 
birth to support the weight of the animal, and temporary splints, 
carefully padded and wrapped on with some soft bandages, become 
necessary. 

OSTEOMALACIA (CREEPS). 

This is a condition of bone brittleness or softening of bone found 
usually in adult life. It consists in the decalcification of mature 
bone, with the advancing diminution of the compact portion of bone 
by absorption. The periosteum strips very easily from the bone. 
This disease is seen in milch cows during the period of heavy lacta- 



266 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

tion or in the later stages of pregnancy, and the greater the yield of 
milk the more rapid the progress of the disease. Heifers with their 
first calves are frequently affected, as these animals require a consid- 
erable quantity of animal salts for their own growth and for the 
nourishment of their offspring. 

/Symptoms. — In marked cases there is a gradual emaciation and 
symptoms of gastrointestinal catarrh, with depraved appetite, the 
animal eating manure, decayed wood, dirt, leather, etc. Muscular 
weakness is prominent, together with muscle tremors, which simulate 
chills, but are not accompanied with any rise of temperature. The 
animal has a stiff, laborious gait; there is pain and swelling of the 
joints, and constant shifting of the weight from one leg to another. 
The restricted movements of the joints are frequently accompanied 
with a crackling sound, which has caused the name of " creeps " to be 
applied to the disease. The coat is dull and rough and the skin dry 
and hidebound. The animal is subject to frequent sprains or fracture 
of bones without apparent cause, as in lying down or turning around, 
and when such fractures occur they are difficult to unite. The bones 
principally involved are the upper bones of the legs, the haunch bone, 
and the middle bones of the spinal column. The disease in this 
country is confined to localized areas in the Southwest, known as the 
" alkali districts," and in the old dairy sections of New York State. 
The cause of this affection is the insufficiency or total absence of 
lime salts in the food, also to feeding hay of low, damp pastures, 
kitchen slops, and potatoes, or to overstocking lands. It occurs on 
old, worn-out soil devoid of lime salts, and has also been observed to 
follow a dry season. 

Treatment. — This should consist in a change of feed and the artifi- 
cial feeding of lime salts, such as magnesium and sodium phosphate. 
Feed containing mineral salts may be given, such as beans, cowpeas, 
oats, cottonseed meal, or wheat bran. Cottonseed meal is one of the 
best feeds for this purpose, but it should be fed carefully, as too large 
quantities of it are injurious to cows. Phosphorus may also be given 
in one-fourth grain doses twice daily, together with a tablespoonful 
of powdered bone meal or crude calcium phosphate at each meal. 
Ordinary lime dissolved in drinking water (limewater) will also be 
found efficacious in combating this disease, and can be provided at 
slight expense. A change of pasture to a locality where the disease is 
unknown and a free supply of common salt and bone meal will be the 
most convenient method of treating range cattle. 

SPRAINS. 

The most common accident occurring to bones and joints is a 
sprain of the ligaments uniting the bones, or the tendons uniting the 
muscles and bones. A sprain is the result of a sudden forcing of a 



bones: diseases and accidents. 267 

joint in an unnatural direction, or, if in a natural direction, beyond 
the power of the ligament or tendon to restrain it properly, so that 
part of the fibers of either are ruptured. When such an accident 
occurs pain is immediately inflicted, varying in degree with the 
extent of the injury, which is soon followed by swelling, with more 
or less heat and tenderness. If the seat of the injury be in any of 
the limbs, lameness is likely to result. Of the causes of sprain, slip- 
ping on ice or a wet floor, playing, or fighting with another animal 
are the most common. 

Sprain of the shoulder joint. — This is liable to occur from any 
of the causes mentioned above or from the animal slipping suddenly 
into a rut or hole. When such an accident occurs, sudden lameness 
will attract attention. The animal will be noticed to drag the leg 
when walking and to carry it in a circular direction, outward and 
forward, at each step. The leg should be carefully examined, pres- 
sure over the joint causing the animal to evince pain. If the person 
making the examination is in doubt, it is well to make a comparison 
between the shoulders by pressing first on one and then the other. 
After such an accident the animal should be tied up so as to limit so 
far as possible the use of the injured joint. 

Soft feed should be given with a view of keeping the bowels acting 
freely. 

Treatment. — During the first three days the treatment should con- 
sist of cold-water irrigation to check the inflammation and relieve the 
pain. Hot fomentations may then be applied to hasten the absorp- 
tion of the inflammatory fluids. When the pain has somewhat 
abated, equal parts of mercurial ointment and green soap may be 
rubbed into the swollen tissue. Should lameness continue after the 
tenth day, good results will be obtained from the application of a 
blister. This may be done by carefully clipping off the hair over 
the joint, including a surface of 4 or 5 inches in circumference, and 
rubbing in the following preparation : 

Powdered eantharides dram 1 

Biniodid of mercury do 1 

Vaseline ounce 1 

The animal's head should be carefully tied until the third day, to 
prevent its licking the blister. The blistered surface should then be 
smeared with lard or vaseline every other day until the scabs fall off. 
Gentle exercise should be allowed after the fourth or fifth day from 
the application of the blister. If the lameness still remains the 
blister may be repeated in three weeks or a month. 

Sprain of the fetlock. — This may occur from misstep when the 
animal is moving rapidly, and the twisting or wrenching of the foot 
is sufficient to rupture partially the ligaments which bind the bones 



268 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

together at that part. Such an accident also frequently occurs by 
the foot in getting fastened in a hole in the floor; the wrenching is 
the result of the animal's attempt to liberate it. Lameness, followed 
by swelling of the joint and pain when it is handled, or when the 
animal moves the joint, and heat, are the more noticeable symptoms. 
If the sprain is very severe, the animal occasionally does not bear 
its weight on the limb. 

Treatment. — The most important consideration in the treatment 
of this affection is rest, which is best enforced by keeping the ani- 
mal in the stall and placing strong, muslin bandages about the in- 
flamed joint. As in the sprain of the shoulder, cold water in the 
form of douches, continuous irrigation with hose or soaking tub, or 
finely chopped ice poultices is indicated for the first three days. 
Following this apply a Priessnitz bandage 1 moderately tight about 
the joint, which not only conduces to rest, but also favors absorption. 
Massage with stimulating liniments, such as soap or camphor, may 
later be applied to the affected parts. 

If the lameness has not disappeared by the tenth day, the blister 
advised for the sprain of the shoulder should be applied and the 
same precautions observed as to tying the animal's head and subse- 
quent smearing with vaseline. When a blister is applied in this 
locality, the back part of the heel should be first filled with lard or 
vaseline, and care taken to prevent any of the blistering preparation 
from coming in contact with the skin of that part. If this precaution 
is not observed, scratches may ensue and prove troublesome. 

Sprain or the hip. — This is liable to result from the animal's 
slipping in such way as to spread the hind feet wide apart. The 
patient goes stiff in the hind legs, or lame in one hind leg, walking 
with a straddling gait and swinging the leg outward as it is carried 
forward. Tenderness may occasionally be detected on pressure, but 
owing to the heavy covering of muscles outside the joint this test is 
not always reliable. 

In the acute cases give rest and cold local applications. After the 
fourth or fifth day the blister mentioned for sprain of the shoulder 
may be applied with advantage, and if this proves insufficient, as a 
last resort we may fire in points over the joint. 

Sprain or the back. — Sprain of the back, particularly in the 
region of the loins, is not an uncommon accident among cattle. It 
is liable to occur from the animals slipping with both hind feet side- 

1 A Preissnitz bandage is a dressing which combines the three properties of keeping a 
part warm, moist, and subjecting it to uniform pressure. It consists of three layers of 
material. The inner layer is composed of absorbent cotton or some other material which 
is capable of holding moisture. This is soaked in water and wrapped around the part. 
The second layer consists of a substance which is impervious to moisture, as oiled silk 
or oiled paper, and is applied about the inner layer to prevent evaporation. The third or 
outside layer is composed of a flannel or woolen bandage to prevent the radiation of heat 
and thus keep the moist inner layer at the temperature of the body. 



bones: diseases and accidents. 269 

wise so as to twist the back, or from slipping violently backward so 
that great stress is thrown on the loins. The patient moves with 
difficulty, using the hind parts in a guarded manner, as if afraid of 
causing severe pain. Occasionally, if the sprain is severe, the animal 
will rise with difficulty. Pressure on the back in the immediate region 
of the loins causes pain. Such cases may be mistaken for paralysis, 
and, in fact, in severe cases, during the early stages of the injury, 
although the nerve supply is not interfered with, the injury to the 
muscles and resulting pain is so great that the condition is almost 
equal to paralysis, although liable to be attended with more favorable 
results. Hot applications, such as blankets wrung out of hot water 
and changed often, will be likely to afford relief during the earlier 
stages. Afterward the blister mentioned for sprain of the shoulder 
may be applied with advantage. 

FRACTURES (BROKEN BONES). 

Bones may be accidentally broken in many ways and from differ- 
ent causes. Fractures in general are liable to be produced by ex- 
ternal force suddenly and violently applied, either directly to the 
part or at a distance, the force being transmitted through the 
stronger bones until it expends itself by breaking a weaker one re- 
mote from the seat of the injury. Occasionally violent contraction 
of muscles is sufficient to break a bone. Certain bones, those of the 
limbs in particular, owing to their exposed position, are more liable 
to fracture than others. Owing to certain predisposing causes, such 
as age, habit, or heriditary constitutional weakness, the bones of 
some animals are more easily fractured than those of others. The 
bones of an animal advanced in years are more subject to fracture 
because of the preponderance of inorganic matter rendering them 
more brittle. They are also occasionally rendered liable to fracture 
by a previously existing diseased condition. Fractures are divided 
into four classes — partial, simple, compound, and comminuted. 

Partial fractures. — Partial fractures are those which are liable 
to occur in a young animal in which the preponderance of animal 
matter or the semicartilaginous condition of the bone renders it 
tough, so that even when considerable force is applied the bone 
bends, breaking on the side opposite that to which the force was 
applied, after the manner in which a green stick bends and breaks. 

Simple fractures. — Simple fracture is one in which the bone is 
severed in two parts, transversely, longitudinally, or obliquely, with- 
out serious injury to the adjoining structures. 

Compound fractures. — Compound fracture is one in which there 
is an open wound permitting the air to communicate with the ends 
of the broken bones. 



270 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Comminuted fractures. — Comminuted fracture is one in which 
the bone is shattered or divided into a number of fragments. 

Complicated fractures. — Complicated fracture is one in which 
other structures surrounding the bones are injured. 

General symptoms of fracture. — When a fracture of one or more 
of the large bones of a limb occurs, symptoms are sure to be well 
marked. After the accident the animal refuses to touch the foot to 
the ground and, if compelled to move, does so with great pain and 
reluctance. There is more or less shortening of the limb, with trem- 
bling of the muscles in the vicinity of the injury; deformity, and in- 
creased mobility, so that, instead of the natural joints of the limb 
and the natural, muscular control of their motion, a new joint, over 
which the animal has no control, is formed where the fracture oc- 
curred. As the leg, shortened by the ends of the bones being forced 
past one another from the muscular contraction which invariably 
takes place, hangs dependent from the body it swings in an awkward 
and unnatural manner, permitting the toe and foot to assume posi- 
tions in their relations to other parts of the body which otherwise 
would be impossible. If the fractured bone is so situated that the 
parts may be moved one upon another, a grating sound, known as 
crepitus, will be heard. 

General treatment of fractures. — When a fracture occurs, the 
advisability of attempting treatment must first be determined. If 
the animal is young, valuable, and of reasonably quiet temperament, 
and the fracture is not too great in extent, the chances of recovery 
are fair. On the other hand, if the animal should be of little value, 
irritable, advanced in years, and the fracture is a serious compound 
cr comminuted one, the wiser course would generally be to put the 
creature out of its misery. 

Having determined to attempt treatment, no time should be lost 
in restoring the parts as nearly as possible to their natural position 
and retaining them there. If the ends of the bones have been drawn 
one past the other, they should be drawn out by firm and continuous 
tension, until they again assume the position in which they were 
before the accident. All this can better be done before the swelling 
(which is sure to result) takes place. If the swelling has occurred 
before the injury is noticed, do not attempt to treat it, but proceed at 
once to treat the fracture as though the swelling were not present, 
for no step can be taken toward recovery until the ends of the bone 
have been restored to their proper position. When that is done and 
proper appliances have been used to prevent them from being again 
misplaced, the swelling, which is the result of irritation, will be re- 
lieved. In selecting the appliances to be used in the treatment of 
fracture the judgment and ingenuity of the operator are of much im- 
portance. Splints, made of wood shaped to fit the limb and padded 



bones: diseases and accidents. 271 

with soft material where they come in contact with bony promi- 
nences, and held in position by means of bandages, are the oldest 
method, and with some are still most popular. The fracture pads 
used in human surgery, and for sale in surgical depots, are very con- 
venient. After being dipped in water they may be molded to fit the 
limb and be retained by means of bandages. Heavy sole leather is 
also used after being soaked in warm water and molded to the shape 
of the limb and holes cut in it to fit over any sharp irregularities in 
the natural shape of the bones. Gutta-percha sheets are also used 
and answer well. They are prepared and used in the same way as 
the leather. 

Another and perhaps the simplest of all methods is the application 
of a plaster-of-Paris bandage, which is made as follows: Strips of 
thin cheesecloth 3 inches wide and 8 or 9 feet long are laid flat on 
a board and on them is spread a layer of plaster of Paris about one- 
eighth of an inch thick ; then, starting at one end, roll carefully so as 
to gather the plaster in between the layers of the bandage. It is of 
course important that the cloth be thin and the plaster of Paris fresh 
and active. After preparing four or five of such bandages the op- 
erator is ready to dress the fracture, which, after the parts have been 
brought into position, should be done by covering all that part of 
the limb to which the plaster-of-Paris bandage is to be applied with 
a single layer of the dry bandage, letting it extend both above and 
below the part to which the plaster bandage is to be applied and 
including under the folds of the dry bandage at each end a layer of 
absorbent cotton, which is intended to form a pad to prevent the 
ends of the plaster bandage from chafing the skin beneath. "When 
this is done one of the plaster bandages should be placed in a vessel 
of water and allowed to remain till the air bubbles have ceased to 
rise from it, which will generally indicate that it is soaked through. 
Then, taking it in the hand, wind it carefully around and around the 
limb, unrolling the bandage as it is wound around the limb, occasion- 
ally smoothing down the plaster of Paris. Should it form roughly 
or in ridges the hand may be dipped in water to impart increased 
moisture to it. When about finished with one bandage, place another 
one in the water, so that the winding operation may be continued 
without delay. The bandages should be applied till the cast is from 
one-half to three-quarters of an inch thick, then gently restrain the 
animal for one-half or three-quarters of an hour till the plaster is 
hardened. Any of the appliances used should be so manipulated as 
to prevent absolutely any motion of the detached parts. If the 
fracture is near a joint, it is generally best to include the joint in the 
appliance. The part of the limb below the bandage should be care- 
fully and firmly wrapped with an ordinary cotton bandage all the 
way from the plaster bandage down to the hoof. This last bandage 



272 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

will tend to prevent swelling, which is liable to occur, the result of 
the dependent position in which the animal is forced by nature to 
keep the injured limb. 

When plaster-of-Paris bandages are applied to a compound frac- 
ture the injured part may be previously dressed with a small, thick 
pad of cotton immediately over the wound. In applying the band- 
age the operator may with a little care so arrange it as to keep the 
folds of the bandages off the cotton, or have only a thin layer over 
it, which may be easily cut out and the cotton removed, leaving a con- 
venient opening through which to dress the wound without removing 
the bandage. The ends of the bandage or other appliance should be 
carefully watched to see that the skin does not become chafed, par- 
ticularly at the lower end. If the bandage should become weak or 
broken at any part, it may be strengthened without removal by 
applying other bandages immediately over it. If swelling has taken 
place before the bandage has been applied, there is liable to be some 
loosening as it disappears, and even without the swelling there 
may be a tendency of the bandage to slide downward. This may 
be overcome by fastening it to a suspender attached to a surcingle 
or passed over the body and attached to the opposite leg. If the 
looseness can not be overcome in this way, the space may be filled by 
pouring in a thin paste of plaster of Paris. A better method, how- 
ever, is to remove the bandage and apply another. Owing to the 
hardness of the bandage it will be removed with some difficulty. A 
deep groove should be cut down completely through it on the oppo- 
site sides. This may be done with a chisel and a small hammer if 
the bandage is carefully held by an assistant so that the concussion 
of the blows is not transmitted to the injured bones. The patient 
should have a roomy stall, and should be tied by the head to prevent 
any attempts to move around. In some cases slings have been used. 
Ordinarily, however, they are not satisfactory in cattle practice, and 
if applied should be for only a few days at a time, and with a view to 
lessen the animal's disposition to lie down, rather than to prevent it. 
When they are used continuously the pressure on the abdomen may 
interfere with digestion and the general health of the animal. 

Modes of union. — The animal should be kept as quiet as possible 
and given such feed as will have a tendency to keep the bowels 
slightly relaxed. The success of the operation depends chiefly on 
the skill of the operator, but not alone in the selection and use of the 
appliances, for as much attention must be given to subsequent man- 
agement. The patients are unreasonable, and a single awkward 
motion may undo the work of weeks so far as the union of the parts 
of the bone is concerned. Union takes place after the same process 
and, if the conditions are favorable, with greater rapidity than in the 
human being. The injury that caused the fracture is almost sure to 



bones: diseases and accidents. 273 

have extended to some of the adjacent tissues, and even though the 
fracture may be of the simplest type there is almost sure to be con- 
siderable hemorrhage around the ends of the broken bone. This, 
however, is unimportant if the skin remains intact, unless a very 
large vessel should be injured, or the fracture should open some of 
the important cavities of the body, in which case a fatal hemorrhage 
may result. If, on the other hand, the fracture is compound the 
external opening furnishes a fertile field for the lodgment of disease- 
producing germs. 

Unless great care is taken in such cases, a suppurative process is 
liable to be established which will seriously interfere with, if not 
entirely arrest, the process of union between the bones; or it may 
become so serious as to endanger the general health of the animal 
and even be attended with fatal results. This last danger is greater 
if the injury has occurred to the bones of the arm or thigh. In 
such cases, owing to the dense covering of fascia which ensheathes 
the muscular covering pus is liable to be imprisoned, and, burrowing 
downward, saturate the whole structure, not only endangering the 
limb, but, by absorption, may set up blood poisoning and seriously 
interfere with the general health of the patient, even to causing 
death. In order so far as possible to prevent such an unfortunate 
complication, the wound should be carefully cleansed with a mild 
solution of carbolic acid, then dusted over with iodoform before the 
bandages are applied, and cleansed and dressed daily in the same 
way. After dressing, always cover with absorbent cotton. In the 
early process of union an exudation of lymph takes place, which is 
at first fluid, gradually becoming thicker and firmer till it forms a 
callus, known as the external or ensheathing callus, in the shape of 
a ring or ferrule surrounding the detached portions of the bone. It 
occasionally happens that this callus forms only at the ends of the 
bones, filling the spaces that exist between them, when it is known 
as the intermediate callus. The process of union may be divided into 
five stages. In the first stage, including the first eight days, the de- 
tached portions of the bone and the sharp projections that are not 
sufficiently nourished are absorbed ; the blood which escaped into the 
surrounding tissues, the result of the injury, is gradually absorbed, 
and the effused lymph, which is ultimately to constitute the tem- 
porary cartilage, takes it place. In the second stage, from the tenth 
to the twentieth day, the tumor or callus is formed and fibrocartilage 
is developed inside and around the exposed end of the bone. In the 
third stage, extending from the twentieth to the fortieth or fiftieth 
day, according to the age and strength of the animal, the fibrocar- 
tilaginous structure undergoes a change and is gradually converted 
into bone, forming a ferrule on the outside and a plug on the inside, 
33071°— 16 18 



274 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

which serve to hold the part in position. In the fourth stage, ex- 
tending to about the sixth month, the whole of the new structure is 
converted into bone. In the fifth stage, extending to the end of the 
first year, the callus is absorbed, being no longer necessary, and 
the connection between the cavities of the two bones is again 
established. 

Common complications. — The process of union just described is 
healthy and normal. Diseased conditions may at any time supervene 
during the treatment and render the operation unsuccessful. In the 
case of compound fracture, the open wound communicating with the 
ends of the bones, a septic condition is liable to arise which may be- 
come so serious as to endanger the animal's life and bring about con- 
dition's which in human surgery would indicate amputation. 
Although that operation is not a general one in veterinary practice, 
there is no reason why it should not be attempted as a last resort, 
particularly if the animal is valuable or is one whose existence is 
necessary in order to perpetuate some valuable strain. Even in the 
simplest form of fracture, if the splints or bandages are improperly 
applied and the fractured bone left so loosely guarded that the 
broken ends move one upon another, the formation of the calluses 
previously described is liable to be interfered with, and in place of 
a strong, rigid, and healthy union a formation of elastic cartilage is 
the result. This false structure unites the broken ends of the bones 
in such way that they move one upon another, depriving the bone of 
its stability and usefulness. When once the healthy process of union 
is interrupted in the manner just described, it is again established 
with great difficulty. It no longer does any good to continue the 
restraining power ; in fact, the change of the temporary cartilage into 
bone is more liable to be reestablished if the parts move violently upon 
each other for a short time so as to set up and renew the process of 
inflammation. Then if the restraint is again applied there is some 
chance of union. In order so far as possible to avoid this danger, 
care should be taken to see that the bandage fits closely and that it 
is kept on till there is no longer any danger but that a perfect union 
has taken place. It is impossible to say at just what time the splints 
or bandages can safely be removed. In a young and healthy animal 
of quiet temperament, if the parts have been firmly held in position 
throughout the whole time, from 30 to 40 days may be regarded as 
reasonably safe. Under more unfavorable conditions as to age, 
vitality, and restraint, the period would better be extended to 60 days, 
if the general condition of the animal is such as to permit of so long 
a continuance. After the appliance has been removed the animal 
should be allowed to stand quiet for a few days, then be given very 
gentle exercise, gradually increased for a week or 10 days, by which 
time the patient will be so far recovered as to be placed in pasture. 



bones: diseases and accidents. 275 

It should, however, be alone for a time, so as not to take any chance 
of injury from fighting or other accidents that association with other 
animals might involve. 

SPECIAL FRACTURES. 

Fracture or the horns. — Of the special fractures liable to occur, 
that of the horn is perhaps the most common. It is always the result 
of violent mechanical means, such as blows, injury occurring while 
fighting, or from the animal getting its head locked in some manner 
while feeding from a rack. When it occurs there are two ways in 
which the injury may affect the animal. First and most common, 
the horny crust is liable to be stripped from the bony projection 
which it covers. Second, the crust and bone may both be broken or 
bent down, the fracture occurring in that case at the root of the horn 
and involving part of the bones of the head in the immediate vicinity. 
In the first case, if the horny covering is knocked off, little atten- 
tion is necessary. The animal may be relieved from suffering if 
the stump is smeared with pine tar and wrapped in cloth. If the 
core is much lacerated, perhaps it would be better to amputate. 
The necessity for such operation must be determined by the condi- 
tion of the injury, influenced to some extent by the owner's ideas 
on the subject. When the operation is performed, it should be 
done with a sharp, fine-toothed saw, and by sawing the horn off close 
enough to include a little of the skin and hair around its base. The 
practice of dehorning has grown popular in many parts of the coun- 
try. It is a simple operation, and, although attended with some 
immediate suffering, does not produce serious constitutional disturb- 
ance. The advisability of performing the operation on all cattle is a 
question of expediency and must be justified by the expectation of 
benefit on the part of the feeder. If the horn should be broken so 
that the core and crust are bent out of shape without the detachment 
of one from the other, it may be restored to its normal position and 
retained there by means of a splint made to fit across the back of the 
head, so as to be laced to both horns, the sound horn serving to hold 
the broken one in position. Such a splint may be fastened on by 
means of either a wire or cord and allowed to remain six weeks or two 
months. 

If both the horn and core have been broken off, bleeding is usually 
severe and should be checked by astringents, such as alum, or by 
pressure. After the hemorrhage has ceased the exposed portion of 
the fracture should be covered with pine tar, with or without a ban- 
dage. An imperfect growth of horn will in due time cover the 
exposed bone. 

Fractures of the bones of the face. — These occasionally occur, 
and when over the cavities of the nose produce depression, disfigure- 



276 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ment, and impeded respiration, owing to the lessening of the caliber 
of the nasal passages. 

When such accident occurs, the depressed bone should be gently 
forced back to place by introducing the finger in the nostril, or if 
the fracture is too far up for this, a probe may be passed and the 
parts retained by placing immediately over it a plaster of thin leather 
or strong canvas smeared with tar, extending out to the sound sur- 
roundings, taking care to embed the hair over the fractured portion 
in the tar of the plaster, so that it will be firmly held and prevented 
from again becoming depressed. If only one nostril is involved, 
the depressed portion may be held in position by packing that 
nostril with absorbent cotton. This practice, however, has the 
objection of giving the animal great discomfort and in some cases 
a disposition to aggravate the injury. 

Fracture of the skull, (cranium). — Fractures of the bones form- 
ing the cavity in which the brain is situated are, owing to their 
strength, comparatively rare among cattle. Such an accident can 
only be the result of external violence, and it is hardly possible that 
it could occur without some fragment of the broken bone pressing 
upon the brain so as to cause coma or other severe nervous derange- 
ment, or even death. 

If the animal survives the first shock, the efforts should be directed 
toward relieving the pressure, which may be done by making an 
opening in the bone (trephining), and with a hook drawing the 
depressed part outward. Interference is not so liable to be attended 
with good results as to be warranted in all cases. The effects of a 
very severe shock which may not have produced a fracture, although 
the symptoms were alarming, will in many cases pass off, leaving 
the animal in a better condition than if an operation had been per- 
formed. 

Fracture of the lower jaw. — This occasionally occurs, and is 
more liable to result from the kick of a horse than from any other 
cause. The front part of the jaw may be split or shattered in any 
direction in which the force may have been applied. Bloody dis- 
charges from the mouth and failure to eat or ruminate are symp- 
toms most likely to attract attention. 

The treatment is simple and consists in first removing detached 
pieces of bone, then drawing the parts together and retaining them 
by means of pieces of copper wire fastened around the teeth, and 
feeding the animal on sloppy feed until recovery takes place. The 
wound should be dressed once or twice a day with a 3 per cent solu- 
tion of carbolic acid, forced gently in with a syringe, so as to remove 
any feed which may have become impacted and interfere with the 
healing process. 



bones: diseases and accidents. 277 

Fracture of the vertebra (spinal column). — This is not so 
common among- cattle as other animals. If the fracture should be 
through the body of the bone, there may be pressure on or laceration 
of the spinal cord, causing paralysis of all parts posterior to the 
seat of injury. Fractures of the prominences on the vertebra occa- 
sionally occur without interfering with the canal in which the spinal 
cord is situated. Such accidents are liable to pass unnoticed, for, 
although the animal may suffer considerable pain, it may not be 
manifested in such way as to attract attention, and the deep covering 
of muscles serves effectually to conceal the injury. When the frac- 
ture occurs in the upper part of the neck, paralysis of the muscles 
used in respiration must result, and death from asphyxia very 
shortly ensues. The more common accident is to the loins, and 
when a fracture of the body of the vertebra ocelli's in this region 
so as to produce pressure on the spinal cord, paralysis of the hind 
legs and quarters is the result. Diagnosis of such an accident is 
more difficult than in the case of any other fracture. The parts can 
not be moved one upon another so that crepitus is noticeable. The 
heavy coating of muscles conceals irregularities of shape, which 
otherwise may attract attention. About the only reliable symptom 
is paralysis or loss of use and sensation of the parts posterior to the 
injury. Careful examination may reveal the seat of the injury. If 
it was the result of a blow, there may be some abrasion of the skin. 
The diagnosis is only important as an aid in determining the proper 
course to pursue. 

If paralysis is present and a depression or irregularity of the 
spinal column is so apparent as to leave no doubt of the existence 
of a fracture, the only alternative is to destroy the animal, for of 
recovery there can be no hope. If, on the other hand, the paralysis 
is incomplete and there is no depression or irregularity of the spinal 
column or other evidence of fracture, the patient should be made as 
comfortable as possible by being placed in a well-bedded box stall 
and a few days permitted to elapse before the case is abandoned. 
The symptoms last described may possibly be the result of a severe 
strain of the muscles of the loins, in which case an improvement will 
soon be noticeable. 

Fractures of the pelvis. — The pelvis, or bony framework which 
gives shape to the posterior part of the body, is liable to fracture in 
many ways. A common one is by a separation of the two bones 
which constitute the whole pelvis along the bottom and center line 
(symphysis pubis). In early life the two bones are separate and 
distinct. The union between them, which is at first cartilaginous, 
undergoes a change and is converted into bone, so that in adult life 
the whole pelvis is practically one bone. The point on which the 



278 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

two bones are united is weaker than the adjoining parts of the bone. 
When an animal slips violently, spreading the legs wide apart, the 
weaker materials give way and the bones are divided. If the acci- 
dent is noticed when it occurs, it is likely to throw light on the 
nature of the injury. The animal will immediately go stiff behind, 
the legs being spread apart. Further examination may be made by 
introducing the hand, previously carefully oiled, into the rectum or 
vagina and pressing down along the central line, which will cause 
the patient to evince acute pain. In this case no appliance can be 
used to advantage. The animal should be tied in a stall until the 
parts become reunited and the lameness disappears. 

Fracture of the posterior parts of the bone (ischium), which forms 
the point of the buttocks occasionally occurs. The buttock on the 
injured side will be less prominent than the other. Careful manipu- 
lation will generally move the parts so that crepitus may be recog- 
nized. If the fracture is through the posterior part of the bone, it is 
unimportant and deserving of no more attention than placing the 
animal in such position as to insure it against subsequent injury until 
the bones are united. Some distortion may result, but not sufficient 
to warrant interference. 

Fracture through the body of the bone on a line with the hip joint 
(acetabulum) occasionally, though rarely, occurs, and is nearly al- 
ways associated with dislocation of the hip joint and the forcing of 
the head of the upper bone of the leg (femur) upward, far out of 
its place. The violent contraction of the powerful muscles of the hip 
renders it impossible to reduce the dislocation, and even if it were 
possible the fractured pelvis could not be held in position, so that 
the case becomes at once hopeless. It may be recognized by the 
animal's standing on three legs, the leg on the injured side seeming 
shorter than its fellow and hanging pendulous, the muscles of the 
hip violently contracted and hard to the touch. The animal evinces 
great pain when the limb is moved. There is liable to be some 
apparent distortion in the relations between the point of the hip and 
the point of the buttock. This will be more readily noticed by com- 
paring the injured side with the other. The parts may be moved so 
as to produce crepitus. The examination may be completed by intro- 
ducing the oiled hand into the vagina or rectum, when the two sides 
of the pelvis will reveal well-marked differences. 

Fracture or the point of the hip. — The anterior and external 
part of the pelvis (ilium), commonly known as the point of the hip, 
is liable to fracture, which stock owners describe as "hipping," or 
being " hipped," or having the hip " knocked down." This accident 
may be the result of crowding while passing through a narrow door, 
of falling violently on the point of the hip, or from a violent blow 
directed downward and forward against it. The lesion generally 



bones: diseases and accidents. 279 

extends across the flat surface of the bone from its outer and poste- 
rior edge forward and inward. Distortion is liable to be the only 
noticeable symptom. The detached portion varies in size in different 
cases and with it the resulting deformity. The animal is noticed to 
be slightly lame, but this symptom soon disappears. The detached 
portion of the bone is drawn downward and away from the main 
part by the action of the muscles below, which are so powerful as to 
render return impossible. The bones therefore remain permanently 
separated, union taking place by fibrous callus. The animal suffers 
very little inconvenience, and for practical use may be as serviceable 
as before the accident, though the distorted appearance depreciates 
its value. 

Fracture or the ribs. — Such an occurrence can take place only 
as the result of a direct injury, as from blows or crowding. The pos- 
terior ribs, being more exposed, are more liable to fracture. Pain in 
moving, slight swelling over the seat of injury, and difficult breathing 
are obvious symptoms. If the fracture is complete, crepitation may 
be occasionally noticed by placing the hand flat over the injured 
part, carefully observing the motion as the chest contracts and ex- 
pands during respiration. This symptom is more noticeable when the 
animal coughs. Unless the point of the broken bone penetrates the 
cavity of the chest the fracture is usually unimportant and calls for 
no treatment other than quiet. If the breathing is very labored and 
attended with much pain, motion may be limited by applying a wide 
bandage firmly around the chest. The animal should be restricted 
in the amount of feed and water for a few days, the stomach being 
kept as nearly empty as possible. Sloppy feed should be given to 
encourage, as much as possible, free action of the diaphragm in 
breathing. 

Fracture of bones of the limbs. — On this subject much has been 
said in the preceding remarks on general fractures. As a rule, 
fracture through one of the large bones of the shoulder (scapula) or 
thigh (femur) is very difficult to manage. The powerful contraction 
of the muscles and the changing shape of the limb resulting from 
their action renders it impossible to retain the detached parts of the 
bone in proper position. Therefore, though the union should take 
place, there is almost sure to be considerable deformity and more or 
less lameness. Fracture of the arm (humerus) or leg (tibia) is 
likely to be attended with better results. The muscular covering is 
not so thick, the sheath in which they are held is more tense, and the 
change in the shape of the limb from muscular action not so notice- 
able, the muscular force not so great, all of which facilitate replac- 
ing the dislodged ends and retaining them. 

Fracture of the knee (carpus) and hock (tarsus). — This sel- 
dom occurs unless it is the result of a very violent injury, and is gen- 



280 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

erally associated with other injury and serious complications. Dis- 
placement does not generally occur to any considerable extent. The 
treatment, of course, consists in holding the limb perfectly quiet 
in a natural position, which may be done by the application of long, 
wooden splints retained by bandages, or a plaster-of-Paris bandage. 

Fractures below the knee.— Fracture of the long bone below the 
knee (metacarpus) and hock (metatarsus) is more common. In 
young animals of quiet temperament the treatment of simple frac- 
tures here is likely to be attended with good results. On the other 
hand, a compound fracture in this region becomes a serious matter. 
The structures which surround the bones are so thin that a very small 
degree of sloughing will expose parts of the bones and be liable to 
lead to serious complications and probably fatal results. 

Fractures of bones below the fetlock. — These fractures are com- 
paratively unimportant unless associated with other serious injury. 
The parts can generally be held in position without much difficulty, 
and union generally takes place quite rapidly. 

Appliances.— Of the appliances used in the treatment of the frac- 
ture of limbs above the knee, splints made of wood or iron strips and 
bandages are likely to serve best. Below the knee plaster-of-Paris 
bandages are preferable. The writer is well aware that many of 
the standard authors deprecate the use of the latter, but an extensive 
experience leads me to believe that they have many advantages over 
any of the other appliances when used alone, and in many ways they 
may be used with advantage in combination with others. 

DISLOCATIONS. 

Luxation, or displacement without fracture of the bones form- 
ing a joint, is comparatively rare among cattle. It most frequently 
occurs in the stifle joint, where dislocation of the kneepan (patella) 
takes place. A glance at the skeleton (PI. XXV) will show the rela- 
tions better than they can be described. It will be observed that 
the small, irregularly shaped bone (patella) plays on the anterior 
rounded part of the lower edge of the thigh bone (femur) and be- 
tween it and the upper end of the shank bone (tibia). The outer 
ridge on the lower end of the thigh bone is less prominent than the 
inner one, so that displacement, when it does take place, is by slip- 
ping outward. Such an accident may occur from direct injury or 
external force, as a blow, or from slipping. When it does occur 
the symptoms produced are somewhat alarming. The animal is 
unable to draw the leg forward, and either stands with it thrown 
back with tHe toe pointing downward, or, if it should succeed in 
getting its weight upon it, holds it firmly on the ground, fearing to 
move it. Examination of the outside of the joint will disclose the 
situation of the patella outside its proper place. If the operator 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXV. 




bones: diseases and accidents. 281 

Is not familiar with the normal appearance of the joint, it is well 
to make a comparison between the injured and the sound one. If 
compelled to move, the animal does so with great difficulty, jerking 
the leg which it is unable to bring forward, hopping with the other, 
and partially dragging the injured one. 

Treatment— The treatment is simple. A rope 20 feet long should 
be applied around the fetlock of the affected leg, passed forward be- 
tween the front legs and up over the opposite side of the neck, back 
over the withers, and wrapped once behind the elbow around that 
portion of the rope which passes between the front legs. The leg is 
then drawn away from the body and forcibly pushed forward by 
an assistant, while another person tightens up the slack in the rope 
until the affected leg is off the ground in front of the supporting leg. 
The rope is then drawn taut and the assistant grasps the tail and 
pulls the cow toward the affected side. The animal makes a lurch 
to keep from falling, contracts the muscles, and the patella slips 
into place with a sharp click, and the animal walks off as if nothing 
had happened. If the animal resists this method of handling, it 
may suffice to manipulate the dislocated kneepan by shoving it in- 
ward and forward with the heel of the hand while the affected leg 
is drawn well forward. Unless some precaution is taken the acci- 
dent is liable to recur, as the ligaments have been stretched by the 
dislocation till they no longer hold the bone with that firmness neces- 
sary to retain it. The animal should be tied and the foot fastened 
forward, so that the patient can just stand on it comfortably, by 
means of a rope or strap around the fetlock carried forward between 
the front legs, around the neck, and tied on the breast. 

Should this accident occur more than once it is a good practice to 
apply a blister around the joint, as in the formula recommended for 
sprain of shoulder, and observe the precautions as to restraint and 
subsequent treatment there recommended. With this one exception 
dislocations in the ox occurring independently of other complications 
are rare. 

Dislocation with fracture may occur in any of the joints, and if 
one is suspected or discovered, examination should always be made 
for the other before treatment is applied. When a fracture occurs 
near a joint the force sufficient to rend the bone is liable to be partly 
exerted on the immediate tissues, and when the bone gives way the 
structures of the joints may be seriously injured. It occasionally 
happens that the injury to the joint becomes the most important com- 
plication in the treatment of a fracture. In order clearly to under- 
stand the reason for this a few words are necessary in relation to the 
structure of joints. 

The different pieces constituting the skeleton of the animal body 
are united in such manner as to admit of more or less motion one 



282 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

upon another. In some of the more simple joints the bones fitting 
one into another are held together by the dense structures around 
them, admitting of very little or no movement at all, as the bones of 
the head. In other joints the bones are bound together by dense, car- 
tilaginous structures, admitting of only limited motion, such as the 
union of the small bones at the back part of the knee and hock (meta- 
carpal and metatarsal). In the more nearly perfect form of joint the 
power of motion becomes complete and the structures are more com- 
plex. The substance of the bone on its articular surface is not cov- 
ered with periosteum, but is sheathed in a dense, thin layer of carti- 
lage, shaped to fit the other surfaces with which it comes in contact 
(articular). This layer is thickest toward its center when covering 
bony eminences, and is elastic, of a pearly whiteness, and resisting, 
though soft enough to be easily cut. The bones forming an articula- 
tion are bound together by numerous ligaments attached to bony 
prominences. The whole joint is sealed in by a band or ribbonlike 
ligament (capsular ligament) extending around the joint and at- 
tached at the outer edge of the articular surface, uniting the bones 
and hermetically sealing the cavities of the articulation. This struc- 
ture and the articular surface of the bone is covered by a thin, deli- 
cate membrane, known as the " synovial membrane," which secretes 
the joint oil (synovia). This fluid is viscid and colorless, or slightly 
yellow, and although it does not possess a large quantity of fat, its 
character somewhat resembles oil, and it serves the same purpose in 
lubricating the joints that oil does to the friction surface of an 
engine. Although the tissues of the joint when used in a natural 
way are able to withstand the effect of great exertion, when un- 
naturally used, as they are very delicate and complex, they are liable 
to inflammatory and other changes of a very serious nature. The 
synovial membrane, and in fact the whole structure of the joint, 
is susceptible to injury and serious inflammatory derangement, and 
the capsular ligament is liable to be distended from excessive secre- 
tion of synovia. The latter process may be almost noninflammatory, 
and attended with little inconvenience or importance other than a 
blemish to the animal, which in cattle is not serious. It may occur 
on the back part of the leg above the fetlock or on the inner and fore 
part of the hock, corresponding in its location to windgalls and bog 
spavin of the horse. Continuous support by bandages will generally 
force reabsorption, and as the limb is not subjected to violent action, 
as in the case of the horse, the affection is not so liable to recur. 

SPAVIN. 

Occasionally working oxen that are used in the lumber woods and 
made to pull heavily, with bad footing, are afflicted with this con- 
dition. When it occurs lameness is the first symptom. During the 



bones: diseases and accidents. 283 

early stages of the disease the lameness is most severe in the morning, 
and disappears after the animal is exercised; it gradually becomes 
more severe as the disease advances, so that when the disease is well 
established the animal is lame continuously. Shortly after the lame- 
ness appears a bunch (exostosis) will be noticed on the inner and fore 
part of the affected joint. This bunch differs from bog spavin in that 
it is hard, while bog spavin is soft. It increases in size as the disease 
advances till the animal is too lame to be used for labor. As the dis- 
ease is always attended with considerable pain there is more or less 
loss of flesh. In the most advanced stage the animal will step with 
difficulty, frequently holding the foot from the ground, or, if forced 
to take a few steps, stands with it elevated, twitching with pain. In 
the earlier stages of the disease only a small portion of the fore part 
of the lower, or second, articulation is involved, but the inflammatory 
process gradually extends over the whole surface of the lower joints 
of the hock. The structures of the joint are broken down and the 
bones are united (anchylosis). This process may include any or all 
of the three lower joints of the hock. The joint of motion which is 
situated on the lower end of the leg bone is seldom involved. 

Treatment. — Treatment of spavin in the ox, as in the horse, is 
likely to be tedious, and not always resulting in perfect cure. Usu- 
ally it is best to fatten the animal for slaughter. If, however, treat- 
ment is decided upon, it should consist of complete rest and counter- 
irritation of the part either by sharp blisters or the firing iron. It 
is advisable to try the effect of blistering first, and for this purpose 
the following mixture is recommended : 

Powdered cantharides drams 2 

Biniodid of mercury do 2 

Vaseline ounces 11 

Clip the hair off and apply over the inner and fore part of the joint, 
covering the surface an inch and a half in every direction from the 
enlargement, or over an area 3 to 4 inches across. Fasten the ani- 
mal's head so that it can not reach the part to lick it; after the third 
day grease with lard every other day until the scabs come off. This 
blister may be repeated three or four times at intervals of three 
weeks. The lameness will generally begin to disappear about the 
third or fourth month if the above-described treatment proves bene- 
ficial. Should lameness persist, firing in points by a qualified veteri- 
narian may effect the desired result and should be tried as a last 
resort. 

In a case of spavin the cure is not effected by restoring the diseased 
parts to their natural condition, but by uniting the bones and obliter- 
ating the joints. If this union extends over the whole articular sur- 
face of the joints affected and is sufficiently strong to prevent any 
motion of the bones, the animal will again go sound. The joints 



284 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

that are obliterated, not being those of motion, are not important, so 
that the animal suffers no inconvenience in their loss. 

RHEUMATISM. 

Rheumatism is a constitutional disease from a specific condition 
of the blood and characterized by inflammation of the fibrous struc- 
tures of the body. It is usually accompanied with stiffness, lameness, 
and fever. The parts affected are usually swollen, but swelling may 
be lacking. The inflammation may be transitory; that is, it changes 
from place to place. The parts usually affected are the fibrous struc- 
tures of the joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles. The serous 
membranes and heart may also be affected. According to its loca- 
tion, rheumatism is specified as articular or muscular. According 
to its course, it is designated as acute or chronic. 

Cause. — Among the factors which are actively causative of rheuma- 
tism may be mentioned exposure to dampness and cold, especially 
while the animal is perspiring or fatigued after severe physical exer- 
tion. Among other causes often mentioned are acidity of the blood, 
nervous derangement, microbes, and injuries. It occasionally follows 
another disease, such as pleurisy. The influence of age and heredity 
may be considered as secondary or predisposing causes. Sometimes 
the disease appears without any apparent cause. On the whole, it 
may be said that any of the above-mentioned factors may have more 
or less influence on the production of rheumatism, but the specific 
cause is as yet unknown. 

Symptoms of articular rheumatism. — The symptoms appear sud- 
denly and with varying degrees of severity. The animal presents a 
downcast appearance, with staring coat, horns and ears cold, and the 
mouth and muzzle hot and dry. Appetite and rumination may be 
impaired and followed later or be accompanied at the same time by 
constipation. Constipation may be followed by impaction of the 
stomach or bowels. Thirst is increased, but the amount of urine 
voided is scanty. Respiration and pulse are accelerated, and there is 
usually a fever, rising sometimes as high as 108° F. The animal pre- 
fers to lie down, and when forced to rise stands with its back arched. 
The movements are stiff and lame and cause great pain. The disease 
may attack one or more joints at the same time; in fact, it is often 
symmetrical. One joint may improve while another becomes af- 
fected, thus showing the shifting tendency of the inflammation. The 
affected joints, including their tendons, ligaments, and synovial mem- 
branes, may be swollen, hot, and distended with liquid. They are 
very tender, and, if treated carelessly or injured, may become in- 
fected, thus leading to suppuration. While rheumatism attacks per- 
haps more frequently the knees and fetlocks, it has no special affinity 



bones: diseases and accidents. 285 

for any joint and may attack the stifle, hip, shoulder, or elbow joint. 
In mild cases of articular rheumatism, the animal may fully recover 
in a few days. 

In chronic articular rheumatism there is less tendencj 7 of the dis- 
ease to shift about, but there is a greater liability of structural change 
in the affected joints. This change may consist of induration, exos- 
tosis, or even anchylosis. These structural changes about the joints 
may lead to permanent deformity, such as the bending of the neck. 
Fever is not so constant in the chronic form as in the acute, and the 
latter may lapse into the former. 

Symptoms of muscular rheumatism. — This form of rheumatism 
may appear under the same general conditions as the articular form. 
The general appearance of the animal is the same in both forms. The 
cow usually assumes a recumbent position, and all the movements 
made are stiff and lame. The method of rising or of locomotion indi- 
cates pain in certain muscles or groups of muscles, as of the croup, 
shoulder, or neck. As in the case of articular rheumatism, the 
tendons, ligaments, and synovial membranes may become involved. 
The constitutional symptoms in both articular and muscular rheu- 
matism are similar, so that it is often perplexing to differentiate be- 
tween the two forms. 

Prevention. — It is somewhat difficult to procure preventive treat- 
ment for cattle, especially when there are large numbers with little 
or no shelter. In general, it is advisable to protect the animals so far 
as possible from inclement weather conditions, such as cold rains, 
heavy dews, and frosts. This is more particularly necessary for ani- 
mals in poor condition, or those which are perspiring or fatigued 
after long physical exertion. Careful feeding is also essential. 

Treatment. — In attempting to treat cattle for rheumatism the first 
step is to procure proper shelter and environment. The animal 
should be quartered in a large, clean, dry stall, with plenty of light 
and fresh air, but protected from strong drafts. There should be an 
abundance of clean, dry bedding. The feed should be soft, easily 
digestible, and slightly laxative, and the animal should have access to 
clean, pure, cool water. 

For general or constitutional treatment of acute rheumatism, 
sodium salicylate is indicated. In order to gain the best results from 
this drug, it should be administered with the idea of rapidly saturat- 
ing the system. To cattle it may be given in doses of one-half ounce 
every two hours for ten hours or until immediate relief is obtained. 
This drug should not be continued indefinitely, but may be given 
once a day after immediate relief has been obtained, and this single 
dose continued daily until permanent relief ensues, when it should 
be stopped. The use of sodium salicylate in chronic rheumatism is 
not advisable on account of the danger of depressing the heart, whose 



286 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

action is already somewhat impaired by the lesions which have at- 
tacked it. In this case one-half ounce doses of potassium nitrate or 
bicarbonate may be given three times a day. Besides the constitu- 
tional treatment, it may be necessary to give special attention to the 
bowels in order to relieve constipation. Cattle may be given saline 
laxatives at the outset, such as 1 pound of Epsom salt for an ordi- 
nary-sized cow, and the bowels kept regular by an occasional smaller 
dose. 

In chronic rheumatism the best course of treatment is to give tonics 
and local treatment. Local treatment may also be advisable in acute 
rheumatism in addition to the constitutional treatment already pre- 
scribed. 

External treatment depends solely on the local conditions and 
should be applied judiciously. Among the various remedies may be 
mentioned hot or cold moist packs, hot air and vapor baths, friction, 
etc. Anodynes are often applied locally with good results. Blisters 
are occasionally indicated. As anodynes may be mentioned liniments 
and ointments containing salicylic acid or sodium salicylate in com- 
bination with laudanum, aconite, or chloral hydrate. Camphorated 
spirit, soap liniment, and essential oils also afford some relief when 
applied locally. Of blisters, those containing cantharid.es are most 
effective. 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 

By William Dickson and William Herbert Lowe, D. V. S. 
[Revised by B. T. Woodward, V. M. D.] 

Surgery is both a science and an art. The success of surgical 
operations depends on the judgment, skill, and dexterity, as well 
as upon the knowledge of the operator. The same fundamental 
principles underlie and govern animal and human surgery, although 
their applications have a wide range and are very different in many 
essential particulars. We must not lose sight of the fact that hygiene 
and sanitation are essential to the best results in veterinary as well 
as in human surgery. 

Asepsis is an ideal condition which, although not always possible 
in animal surgery, is highly important in connection with the me- 
chanical details of all surgical operations in proportion to the nature 
and seriousness of the same. 

Aseptic surgery is considered to be the performance of operations 
with sterile instruments with the hands of the operator and the site 
of operation being rendered as nearly sterile as possible, and the 
wound treated during operation with sterile solutions and protected 
following the operation with sterile bandage material. In other 
words, it is the preservation of the highest degree of cleanliness in 
connection with operations. 

Local or general anesthesia should be resorted to in painful and 
serious surgical operations, as operations upon all living creatures 
should be humanely performed and all unnecessary pain and suffer- 
ing avoided. Anesthesia is necessary where absolute immobility of 
the patient is essential and where entire muscular relaxation is 
indispensable. The anesthetic condition is also favorable for the 
adjustment of displaced organs. 

Large animals have to be cast and secured before an anesthetic is 
administered. For complete anesthesia inhalations of chloroform 
are generally employed ; sometimes of both ether and chloroform. 
The quantity of chloroform required to produce insensibility to ex- 
ternal impressions varies much in different cases and must be reg- 
ulated, as well as the admixture of air, by a competent assistant. 

If the probability of the success of an operation is remote and the 
animal is in healthy physical condition, so that its flesh is good for 
human food, it is more advisable to butcher the animal than to 

287 



288 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

attempt a surgical operation that offers little encouragement to the 
owner. The best judgment has to be exercised in determining a 
matter of this kind, for no animal suffering from inflammation or 
that is in a feverish condition is fit for human food. 

All cases of major operative surgery require the skill and dexterity 
of the experienced veterinary surgeon, and no one else should attempt 
such an operation, for unnecessary suffering must be prevented. 
Nevertheless, the more knowledge and understanding an owner of 
animals has of the principles of surgical operations and manipula- 
tions, the better for all concerned. In the first place, such an owner 
will appreciate more fully the skill of the qualified veterinarian, and, 
in the second place, he will be the better prepared and equipped to 
render assistance to his suffering dumb dependents where no prac- 
titioner is accessible and in cases of emergency. There are, moreover, 
some minor operations upon cattle, some of which can hardly be 
classed as surgical, that the stockman and farmer should be able to 
perform himself. 

In the performance of any operation upon an animal of the size 
and strength of the bull or cow, the first consideration is to secure 
the animal in such a manner as to preclude the possibility of its 
injuring either itself or those taking any part in the operation. The 
nature and time likely to be occupied by an operation must, of course, 
largely determine the method to be adopted. 

The majority of operations with which the present chapter is con- 
cerned are usually performed on the animal in a standing position. 
A bull should always be held by a staff attached to the ring in his 
nose. To secure the cow in a standing position, grasp the nose, the 
finger and thumb being introduced into the nostrils, and press against 
the cartilage which makes a division between them. If she has horns, 
grasp one of them with the disengaged hand. If this is insufficient 
the animal should be secured to a post, along the side of a fence, or 
put into a stanchion. An excellent method of restraint is to tie a long 
rope in a slip noose over the horns, pass it around the chest just 
behind the forelegs, taking a half hitch on itself, taking another half 
hitch in front of the hind limbs, passing the free end under the tail, 
bringing it forward and making it fast either to the head or one of 
the hitches. The head should be raised to the level of the back before 
the final knot is tied, so as to render it too serious and painful a 
matter for her to repeat the first attempt she makes to lower it. 
Should the nature or extent of the operation be likely to take up 
considerable time, it is invariably the best plan to throw the animal. 
In the case of the ox this is very easily done, either by use of horse 
hobbles, should they be at hand, or by the application of a simple 
rope. If the horse hobbles are used, they should be fastened on the 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 289 

leg just above the fetlocks (ankle joints), as in that position they are 
less liable to come off than if placed around the pastern. 

Of the many ways of applying the rope for this purpose we will 
describe only two, which we consider the best and simplest: 

First. Take a long, strong rope (one which has been used a few 
times is more flexible), double it, and at 2 or 3 feet from the doubled 
end, according to the size of the animal, make a knot and pass the 
collar thus formed over the animal's head, allowing it to rest on what 
would be the collar place in a horse. Now, pass the ends of the rope 
between the forelegs, carry one around each hind leg just above the 
fetlock joint, from outside in, under itself once, and bring the free 
ends forward, passing each through the collar loop on its own side 
and bringing the slack back toward and beyond the hind quarters. 
(PI. XXVI, fig. 2.) Two or three men should then take hold' of 
each rope and at a given signal pull. The animal's hind legs being 
drawn forward, the balance is lost, and if the animal does not fall 
or lie down he can be readily pushed over on his side and secured 
in the desired position. 

Second. The three half hitches. Take a rope 30 or more feet long, 
make a slip noose at the end and pass it over the animal's horns, 
leaving the knot in the loop between the horns; then pass the rope 
backward along the neck to the withers, just in front of .which take a 
half hitch on it, passing it along the back, take one half hitch just 
behind the forelegs and a second in front of the hind limbs round the 
flank. (PL XXVI, fig. 1.) The free end of the rope is taken hold 
of by one or two assistants while another holds the animal's head. 
By pulling firmly on the rope, or inducing the animal to make a step 
or two forward while steady traction is made on the rope, the beast 
will lie down, when his feet can be secured in the way most con- 
venient for the operator. 

There are numerous other methods, involving more or less com- 
plete restraint, which may be equally efficacious, but one or other of 
the ways indicated will doubtless be found to meet fully all ordinary 
cases. 

RINGING THE BULL. 

This is usually and ought always to be done before the calf has 
attained sufficient weight or strength to make his restraint a matter 
of serious difficulty. An ordinary halter is usually all that is re- 
quired, the strap being secured to a tree or post. A jointed steel or 
copper ring is ordinarily used. Those made of the latter metal are 
preferable. 

The common method of punching a round piece out of the nasal 
septum for the introduction of the ring is, I think, open to objection, 
as portions of the fine nervous filaments are destroyed. The sensi- 
33071°— 16 19 



290 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

bility of the parts is thus lessened and the object of ringing to some 
extent defeated. The insertion of the ring by means of a trocar and 
cannula is preferable, as the method is not open to this objection. 

For some years we have used a little instrument, which can be 
made by any worker in metal, consisting of a steel point riveted into 
a short cannula made to fit on one end of the ring while open. 
(PI. XXVII, fig. 11.) When attached to the ring it is easily and 
quickly passed through the septum, the half of the ring following 
as a matter of course. It can then be removed and the ends of the 
ring brought together and fastened by means of the screw for that 
purpose. 

DEHORNING. 

In the wild state the utility of the horns of cattle as weapons of 
offense and defense is apparent, but with domestication of cattle 
and their confinement the presence of horns constitutes a menace 
to the safety of their companions. Horned cattle frequently inflict 
with their horns painful and serious injuries to others. Deaths as a 
result of such injuries are not unusual. The operation of dehorning 
would therefore be indicated as a matter of general safety. 

On farms where breeding is conducted, the most desirable method 
is to prevent the horns from growing on the young calves. This 
action results in a more symmetrical appearance of the poll and elim- 
inates the dangers which would result from the presence of horns on 
the young cattle prior to their operative removal at a later age. A 
calf should be treated not later than one week after it is born — pref- 
erably when it is from 3 to 5 days old. The agent to be used may be 
either caustic soda or potash in the form of sticks about the thickness 
of an ordinary lead pencil. These caustics must be handled with care, 
as they dissolve the cuticle and may make the hands or fingers sore. 
The preparation of the calf first consists in clipping the hair from 
the parts, washing clean with soap or warm water, and thoroughly 
drying with a cloth or towel. The stick of caustic should be wrapped 
in a piece of paper to protect the hands and fingers, leaving one 
end of the stick uncovered. Moisten the uncovered end slightly and 
rub it on the horn buttons or little points which may be felt on the 
calf's head — first on one, then on the other — two or three times, 
allowing the caustic to dry after each application. Be careful to 
apply the caustic to the horn button only, for if it is brought in con- 
tact with the surrounding skin it will cause pain. Too much mois- 
ture on the stick of caustic will allow the application to spread to 
the surrounding skin. After treatment keep the calf protected from 
rain, as water on the head after application of the caustic will cause 
it to run down over the face. 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 291 

Dehorning of adult animals is usually performed after the age of 
2 years, as after that age there is less probability of the horns again 
growing. The horns should be severed from the head from a quar- 
ter to a half -inch below where the skin joins the base of the horn, 
cutting from the back toward the front if a saw is used. If the 
horn is not cut close enough to the head, an irregular, gnarly 
growth of horn is liable to follow. 

Before attempting to dehorn the animal, it should be securely 
controlled by ropes in a stanchion or by casting. Upon the range 
the cattle are usually controlled by casting or by placing them in a 
" squeezer " connected with a corral. A clean, sharp meat saw or a 
miter saw with a rigid back may be used. "Various types of dehorn- 
ing shears or clippers are in general use. One type of dehorner 
has a stationary knife edge with its cutting edge shaped like a very 
wide V, and opposing this, another knife of similar shape moving 
in a slide, so that the cutting edges act upon the horn from all four 
sides at once, all the edges passing the center at the same time. An- 
other type has a movable knife, with one oblique or one curved edge, 
and the cutting is done in one direction only. The power for cut- 
ting with these instruments is supplied by pulling together two long 
handles which, in order to transmit a greater force, are generally 
so constructed that they act through the medium of a series of cogs. 
In dehorning with these instruments the cutting edges should be 
slipped down over the horn and the knives closed, so that their edges 
set firmly against the horn in such position that the cut will be made 
in the right place and in the right direction. The handles should 
then be drawn together with a quick, firm, strong pull so that the 
horn will be completely severed by the first act and without twisting. 

Dehorning should, when possible, be performed in cool weather 
when the flies are not plentiful. The loss of blood from the opera- 
tion is not sufficient, as a rule, to be of consequence, and after care 
being taken to prevent substances from getting into the openings 
left after the removal of the horns it is not usual to apply any 
dressing. Pine tar or a mixture of pine tar and tannic acid may be 
applied, particularly if the weather is warm. 

SETONING. 

The ordinary use of a seton is to keep up constant drainage from 
a cavity containing matter or to act as a stimulant or counterirritant. 
To insert a seton, the place of entrance and exit having been decided 
on, with the finger and thumb make a small fold of the skin trans- 
versely to the direction the seton is to be inserted, and cut it through, 
either with a sharp knife or a pair of scissors (this should be done at 
both the entrance and exit) ; then with a steady pressure and slight 



292 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

lateral movement insert the seton by means of a seton needle. (PI. 
XXVII, figs. 1 and 2.) The seton should consist of a piece of strong 
tape, varying in breadth according to circumstances, and should be 
kept in place either by a knot on each end or by tying the ends to- 
gether. 

Setons should be gently moved once a day after suppuration is set 
up, and they should not be allowed to remain in over three weeks, or 
a month at the outside. 

TRACHEOTOMY. 

This operation consists in making an opening in the trachea, or 
windpipe. It is indicated whenever there is an obstruction from any 
cause in the upper part of the respiratory tract which threatens the 
death of the animal by asphyxia (suffocation). The mode of pro- 
cedure is as follows: Have an assistant extend the animal's head as 
far as possible to make the trachea tense and prominent; make a 
longitudinal incision about 2 to 2^ inches long through the skin and 
deeper tissues and trachea at the most prominent part of the trachea, 
which is about the middle or upper third, and then insert the trache- 
otomy tube. The latter should be removed once or twice daily and 
cleansed, and the wound dressed antiseptically. To ascertain when 
it is time to discontinue the use of the tube and to allow the wound 
to close, the hand should be held over the opening, which will require 
the animal to use its natural passages in breathing. Observe whether 
it is performed in a natural manner, and if so, remove the tube and 
allow the wound to close. Often the operation has to be performed 
in great haste without the proper instruments and under great dis- 
advantages, the operator having to cut down quickly, open the 
trachea and spread the parts, using some instrument improvised by 
him at the time. This operation only gives the animal relief in 
breathing, and therefore the proper remedial treatment should be 
adopted at the onset of the attack and continued until the cause (the 
disease) has been overcome. 

RUMENOTOMY. 

The opening of the paunch, or rumen, in cattle and the removal 
of a part or the whole of the ingesta through said opening is termed 
rumenotomy. The operation should be performed in severe cases 
only, where the rumen is excessively overloaded and distended. The 
animal is placed with its right side against a wall and firmly held in 
position by strong assistants. The incision is made in the same place 
that the trocar is inserted for puncturing that organ in cases of 
hoven. The opening is increased in size until the operator's hand can 
be inserted into the rumen. Before any of the contents are removed 



SUEGICAL OPERATIONS. 293 

from that organ a linen cloth should be placed from the outer wound 
into the rumen in order to prevent any of the ingesta from getting 
into the abdominal cavity. Some practitioners, after removing a 
portion of the contents of the rumen, introduce such medicine as 
may be indicated before closing the wound. Clean the wound and 
close the opening in the rumen with uninterrupted (PL XXVII, 
fig. 8) carbolized catgut sutures. Next close the external wound, 
consisting of the integument, muscle, and peritoneum, with stout, 
interrupted (PL XXVII, fig. 6) metallic sutures. No feed should 
be given for several hours after the operation, and then gruels only. 
(See "Distension of rumen or paunch with feed," p. 26.) 

TREATMENT OF ABSCESSES. 

An abscess maj^ be detected, if situated externally, by heat, pain, 
redness, and swelling in the early stages, and, if further developed, 
by the fluctuation which is present. When any of these symptoms 
are absent, the suppuration should be encouraged by the means of hot 
fomentations and poultices. Care must be taken that the abscess is 
not opened too soon, or to some extent it may cause it to scatter, and 
the escape of pus will be lessened. The time to open an abscess is 
just before it is ready to break, and should be done with a sharp 
lance, a crucial incision sometimes being necessary. The cavity 
should be syringed out with an antiseptic solution. Care should be 
taken not to allow the wound to close too rapidly, to prevent which 
a tent of lint or oakum should be introduced. 

WOUNDS. 

For the purposes of the present work wounds may be divided into 
three classes : (1) Incised; (2) punctured; (3) lacerated or contused. 
In any wound all that the most suitable applications can accomplish 
is, in the first place, to prevent the access of those poisonous germs 
which exist in the animal's surroundings, such as the soil and the 
manure, and, in the second place, when the process of repair is for 
some reason temporarily inactive or altogether arrested, to incite 
that curative inflammation that is the invariable method by which 
the cure is effected. 

Incised wound. — This is one with clean-cut edges, and may be 
either superficial or deep. In wounds of all descriptions there is 
necessarily more or less bleeding, and this is especially liable to be 
the case in incised wounds, particularly when they penetrate to a 
considerable depth, or when inflicted on a part where blood vessels 
of any considerable size approach the surface. To arrest the hemor- 
rhage must therefore be the first consideration. If slight, a generous 
use of cold water is all that is necessary, but if one or more vessels 



294 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of any size have been wounded or entirely severed, they should be 
taken up and ligated. If the blood flows continuously and is dark 
in color, it proceeds from a vein, but if bright-colored and jerky in 
its flow, it is arterial. 

The taking up of an artery simply means the tying up of the bleeding 
vessel, which should be accomplished as follows: To discover the 
bleeding artery take a piece of clean absorbent cotton, dip it in cold 
water, and by gentle pressure on the wound clear it of the accumu- 
lated blood. The jet of fresh blood reveals the end of the vessel, 
which is readily recognized by its whitish-yellow or buff color. It 
should be seized with a forceps or pincers and slightly drawn clear 
of the surrounding tissues. Now take the thread and place the mid- 
dle of it under the artery, take up the ends, tie one simple knot 
tightly, pressing the thread down with the forefinger so as not to 
include the forceps, then a second one over it and cut off the ends. 
The bleeding being arrested, the operator can now carefully clean 
and inspect the wound, taking care to remove all blood and foreign 
matters and clip the hair around the edges before proceeding to 
stitch it up. If the wound is superficial, the lips may be brought 
together by a series of independent stitches (PL XXVII, fig. 6) 
about one-half of an inch to three-fourths of an inch apart. The 
stitches should not be drawn tightly; it is sufficient to bring the 
edges of the wound in apposition. 

If the wound is deep, the needle should be introduced perpendicu- 
larly at as great a distance from the lip of the wound as the depth 
it is to be inserted, so as to give the thread sufficient hold. All the 
stitches should be as nearly as possible at equal distances from the 
border of the wound, to prevent unequal strain, and the knots should 
be made at the side, not over the wound. (PL XXVII, fig. 6.) 
When the wound is large and deep, care should be taken to have an 
opening in the lowest part to allow for the escape of the discharges. 

In deep wounds which run crosswise of a limb or muscle it is often 
advisable to use what is technically known as the " quilled suture," 
which is most readily understood by reference to Plate XXVII, 
figure 7. To accomplish this method a curved needle with an eye in 
the point and a strong -double thread should be used. The needle thus 
threaded is introduced perpendicularly at least an inch from the 
wound on one side, carried across below and brought out the same 
distance from the border of the cut on the opposite side, the thread 
being seized and held in position while the needle is withdrawn, leav- 
ing a loop of thread protruding on one side and two loose ends on 
the other side of each stitch. When enough stitches have been made, 
take a light piece of wood about the size of a lead pencil, correspond- 
ing in length to the size of the wound or slightly longer, and insert it 
through each of the loops, drawing up the free ends of the threads, 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 295 

which should in turn be tied securely on a similar piece of wood on 
that side. 

Punctured wounds. — Owing to the uncertainty of their depth and 
the structures they may involve, punctured wounds are by far the 
most dangerous and difficult to treat. Not only is the extent of the 
damage hidden from view, but the very character of the injury, as 
can be readily understood, implies at least the possibility of deep- 
seated inflammation and consequent discharge of pus (matter), 
which, when formed, is kept pent up until it has accumulated to such 
an extent that it burrows by simple gravity, as no other exit is pos- 
sible. In this way foreign matters, such as a broken piece of the 
stake or snag, or whatever caused the wound, may be carried to an 
indefinite depth, or the cavity of a joint may be invaded and very 
serious, if not fatal, consequences occur. 

The danger is especially marked when the injury is inflicted on 
parts liable to frequent and extensive motion, but all cases of punc- 
tured wounds should receive unusual care, as no judgment can be 
accurately formed from the external appearance of the wound. While 
a probe can ascertain the depth, it throws but little light on the 
extent or exact nature of the internal injury. For this reason all 
punctured wounds should invariably be carefully searched by means 
of a probe or some substitute devised for the occasion, such as a piece 
of wire with a smooth blunt end, or a piece of hard wood shaped for 
the purpose. Stitching is not admissible in the case of punctured 
wounds. After thoroughly cleansing the opening of the wound and 
its surroundings, tincture of iodin should be injected directly into 
the wound. 

If a punctured wound is not very deep, and when the bruising and 
laceration are slight, it is possible for healing to take place by adhe- 
sion, and this should always be encouraged, as the process of repair 
by this method is far superior to that by granulation, which will be 
referred to later. With this object in view, the animal should be kept 
as quiet as possible. A dose of physic, such as a pound of Glauber's 
or Epsom salt, should be administered, and warm antiseptic fomenta- 
tions or poultices, when this is practicable, applied frequently to the 
surface of the wound. 

In wounds of this description the process of repair may be com- 
plicated by the appearance of exuberant granulations, popularly 
known as " proud flesh," which is really an overgrowth of new tis- 
sue — granulation tissue; but these should not be interfered with 
unless they continue after the acute stage of inflammation has been 
subdued. If, after this, they persist, they may be treated with a 
solution of sulphate of copper (bluestone) or nitrate of silver (lunar 
caustic) and water. 



296 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Contused or lacerated wounds. — These are usually caused by a 
blow with some blunt instrument or falls. The seriousness depends 
largely on the depth of the injury, and treatment should be directed 
to allaying the inflammation and preventing the consequent tendency 
to sloughing. To this end soothing applications, such as antiseptic 
fomentations and poultices, are plainly indicated. 

Methods of healing. — Technically these may be divided into a 
number of distinct processes, but practically we may speak of them 
as two only, namely, by primary union, or adhesion, and by granu- 
lation. As suppuration is not so liable to occur in cattle as in horses, 
healing by the former and more speedy process is much more com- 
mon in the first-named species, more particularly in clean-cut or 
incised wounds, provided they have been stitched within 12 hours 
from the time the injury which caused them was inflicted, that they 
have been kept antiseptically clean, and that the patient by some 
means has been kept fairly still. This latter stipulation is probably 
hardest to comply with. Quiet is an important factor in the proc- 
ess of repair among the lower animals. 

The second method of healing, namely, by granulation, which is, 
however, the manner in which most wounds in animals heal, takes 
much longer. In punctured wounds of any depth healing neces- 
sarily takes place in this way only, and the treatment should be di- 
rected largely to alleviating pain and moderating inflammation. 

After-treatment and dressing of wounds. — The dressing of 
wounds is one of the most important branches of veterinary surgery, 
and one of the most constant difficulties that the practicing veterina^ 
rian has to contend with lies in the lack of cooperation on the part of 
owners in the care and attention in the after-treatment of wounds. 

In summarizing the treatment of wounds, the following recom- 
mendations should be observed: wounds must be cleansed and kept 
clean, using antiseptic solutions which do not produce irritation, and 
applying the solutions with a syringe or with clean pieces of ab- 
sorbent cotton. Bleeding should be stopped before the closing of 
the wound by sutures or bandages. An opening at the bottom of all 
wounds except small superficial wounds should be provided as a 
drainage outlet for the escape of wound secretions or pus if it should 
form. The edges of wounds and the muscles involved in the wound 
should be kept as quiet as possible during the process of healing. 
Every wound should be protected by a sterile or antiseptic dressing 
whenever it is possible to retain a dressing in place. Dressings 
should be changed when it is apparent that they have become 
drenched with wound secretions or pus, or have become disarranged 
or too loose, permitting dirt to enter between them and the skin. If 
swelling appears beyond the edges of a bandage, it is an indication 
that it is too tight and it should then be removed and again applied. 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 297 

The hands of the operator and all instruments and dressings com- 
ing in contact with a wound at any time should be made as clean as 
possible by the use of antiseptics. 

Barbed- wire cuts. — We have specified these simply because in 
some sections of the country there is a fixed idea that there is a 
specific poison in barbed wire, causing injuries which require treat- 
ment differing from that which is applicable to ordinary wounds. 
Barbed-wire cuts differ from ordinary wounds only in the parts 
being often lacerated and torn, and the treatment already indicated 
for wounds of that description is applicable to them. 

CASTRATION. 

Castration consists in the removal of the essential organs of gener- 
ation, and is performed upon both the male and the female. In the 
male the organs removed are the testicles and in the female the 

ovaries. 

castration of the male. 

Castration in the male is performed for several different purposes. 
It may be necessary, as is the case in certain diseased conditions of 
the testicles and in strangulated hernia, but the usual object of the 
operation is to enhance the general value of the animal. For ex- 
ample, if the animal is intended for burden, the operation will better 
fit him for his work by so modifying his temperament and physical 
condition that he may easily be controlled by his master. Again, if 
he is merely to be used for beef purposes, the operation will improve 
the quality of the flesh and cause an added development of the most 
valuable portions of the dressed carcass. 

The operation upon the female may be performed on account of 
diseased conditions, but we may say that the chief object of the 
operation is to make the animal one of more profit to its owner by 
lessening the lacteal secretion and also improving the physical con- 
dition from the point of view of beef production. When the cow is 
spayed, it does away with all trouble attending estrum, or heat, ges- 
tation, and parturition with its accidents and ailments. The flesh 
of the spayed cow is more tender and juicy than that of the natural 
animal. 

The operation upon the male may be either the uncovered or the 
coA 7 ered. In the former the incision is made down to the testicle 
proper, and in the latter the cut is made through the scrotum or the 
outside covering and through the dartos, or the next coat, care being 
taken to cut no deeper tissues or coats. The age at which the opera- 
tion is performed varies, but usually it is performed between the 
second and third month. If done in early life, there is less danger of 
complications, the organs being hi a latent condition and not fully 
developed. There are many different methods of operating, the prin- 
cipal ones of which we shall mention. In the uncovered operation a 



298 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

good free incision should be made, exposing the testicle completely. 
Now it may be removed by simply cutting it off. The only danger 
of doing this is that hemorrhage is liable to follow. To obviate this, 
before the division of the spermatic cord it should be twisted several 
times in the following manner: Take hold of the cord with the left 
hand, having it between the thumb and the index finger. Now twist 
the free portion several times with the right hand, all the time being 
careful to push with the left hand toward the body of the animal. 
In this way the danger of injury to the cord during the animal's 
struggles will be overcome. There will be no hemorrhage, or very 
little, if it has been done properly. This is the most simple manner 
of torsion. There are forceps and other instruments made to per- 
form the operation in this manner. The actual cautery is an old 
method, but we shall not describe it, as we consider that we have bet- 
ter methods now. The next method with the clamps, although ex- 
tensively used upon the horse, is not practiced to so great an extent 
upon the bovine at the present time. It is a very old method, and is 
considered very safe. Clamps are used in the covered and uncovered 
operations. 

More modern methods are by the use of special instruments known 
as the emasculator and the ecraseur. 

The operation of " mulling " or crushing the spermatic cord is an 
unscientific and barbarous procedure, causing unnecessary pain and 
suffering. 

The methods described above apply only to the animal in a normal 
condition. Before operating everything should be examined to see 
that it is as it should be. If otherwise, a special operative procedure 
will be necessary. Whichever mode of operation is adopted from a 
practical standpoint, the principal precautions to be taken in order 
to attain success are as follows: First, thorough cleanliness under 
strict aseptic and antiseptic precautions; second, a free and boldly 
made incision ; third, the avoidance of undue pulling or tension upon 
the spermatic cord; fourth, free drainage, which can be maintained, 
provided the original incision has been properly made. 

The operation of castration of the male is by no means a serious 
one, and when properly performed there is little danger from com- 
plications. Although the danger is trifling, the complications which 
may arise are sometimes of a serious nature. Hemorrhage, either 
primary or secondary, tetanus (or lockjaw), abscesses, hernia (or 
rupture), gangrene, and peritonitis are the most serious complications 
that follow castration. Whichever complication arises will require 
its own special treatment, which we will not go into here, as it will 
be fully dealt with under another heading. We would add, however, 
that, generally speaking, the animal, after being castrated, should 
either be regularly exercised or be allowed freedom so that it can 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 299 

exercise itself. Sudden changes of the temperature are dangerous. 
The animal should be fed moderately, but of a diet easily digestible. 

CASTRATION OF THE FEMALE. 

The operation of ovariotomy (spaying) should be performed when 
the heifer is in her prime and in moderate condition not too plethoric 
and not in heat or pregnant. This operation may be performed in 
one of two ways— namely, by the flank or by the vagina— each oper- 
ation having its special advantages. In the flank operation the 
animal may be operated upon either while standing or while in the 
recumbent position. If standing, she should be placed against a 
wall or a partition and her head held by a strong assistant. The legs 
also must be secured to prevent the animal from kicking. A ver- 
tical incision should be made in the left flank, about the middle of 
the upper portion, care being taken not to make the opening too 
far down, in order to avoid the division of the circumflex artery 
which traverses that region. The operator should now make an 
opening through the peritoneum, which is best done with the fingers. 
Next the hand and arm should be introduced into the abdominal 
cavity and the hand directed backward toward the pelvis, searching 
for the horns of the uterus ; if followed up the ovaries will easily be 
found. They should then be drawn outward and may be removed 
either by the ecraseur or by torsion. Closing and suturing the wound 
will complete the operation. An adhesive plaster bandage can be 
beneficially applied. 

The operation by the vagina is more complicated and requires 
special and expensive instruments. The mode of procedure in brief 
is as follows: A speculum is introduced into the vagina, and an 
incision is made into the superior wall of that passage about 2 inches 
from the neck of the uterus, cutting from below upward and from 
before backward. An incision which should not exceed 3^ inches 
in length should be made. The next step is to get possession of the 
ovaries. They are situated in a fold of the broad ligament and 
should be drawn carefully through the incision into the vagina. 
Now take the long-handled scissors, specially made for this purpose, 
with which the thick border of the broad ligament is divided. The 
torsion forceps are introduced and applied to the broad ligament 
above the ovary. The left hand is then introduced, and the thumb 
and the index finger grasp hold of the broad ligament above the 
forceps. With the right hand torsion is applied and the ovary re- 
moved. The other ovary may be removed in the same manner. 

What has been said with regard to complications and aftertreat- 
ment in the case of the male also applies to the female. 
OTHER SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 

Descriptions of other surgical operations not given in this chapter 
may be found in other parts of this work by reference to the index. 



SURGICAL OPERATIONS. 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 



Plate XXVI. Devices for casting cattle. (Prom Fleming.) 
Pig. 1. Reuff s method of throwing or casting the ox. 
Fig. 2. Miles's method of throwing or casting the ox. 
Plate XXVII. Surgical instruments and sutures. (After Reynders and 
Fleming. ) 

Figs. 1 and 2. Seton needles. These may he either long or short, straight 

or curved, according to the locality in which a seton is to he inserted. 
Fig. 3. Various forms of surgical needles. 
Fig. 4. Suture forceps or needle holder, for passing needles through thick 

and dense tissues. 
Fig. .1. Knot properly tied. 

Figs. 0. 7, 8, 9, 10. Various forms of sutures. Fig. 6, interrupted suture; 
7, quilled suture ; 8, uninterrupted suture ; 9, twisted suture, made by 
passing suture pins through the parts to be held together and wind- 
ing the thread about them so as to represent the figure 8; 10, single- 
pin suture. 
Fig. 11. Appliance for ringing the bull, one-fourth natural size. 
Pig. 12. Nose clamp, with spring and keeper. 
300 



Diseases of Cattle. 






i,-r '7% r S i 




k*^. 




'v^*\4 




^ afti 




J 







Plate XXVI. 




^SESO.- 




2. 



Devices for Casting Cattle. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXVII. 




Surgical Instruments and Sutures. 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 

By John R. Mohlek, V. M. D., 
Assistant Chief, Bureau of Animal Industry. 

[Synonyms: New growth, neoplasm, neoformation, pseudoplasrn, swelling, ana 
hyperplasia.] 

Definition. — Tumors * are abnormal masses of tissue, noninflamma- 
tory and independent in character, arising, without obvious cause, 
from cells of preexistent tissue, possessing no physiologic function, 
and characteristically unrestrained in growth and structure. 

Tumors are abnormal masses of tissue. The application of the 
term " tumor " is directly connected with the fact that they produce 
local enlargement. 

They are noninflammatory ; that is, the process of inflammation is 
not directly the cause or accompaniment of them. An inflammatory 
new growth tends to disappear upon the subsidence of the inflamma- 
tory process, while spontaneous disappearance of a tumor is compar- 
atively rare. 

Tumors are independent. For instance, their nutrition bears no 
relation to the nutrition of the body. A lipoma, or fatty tumor, in 
the subcutaneous tissue, may go on increasing to huge bulk while the 
body is steadily emaciating. Again, the tissues of the aged gradually 
undergo atrophy, yet cancers arise at this time and grow rapidly. 

Tumors are unrestrained in growth and structure. In the develop- 
ment of an animal we know at what period of its existence the mass 
of tissue called liver will develop — what its site, structure, and size 
will be. We know that it will remain, only in that locality, and not, 
as it were, colonize throughout the system. With tumors it is differ- 
ent; there are no laws by which we can forecast the time, place, 
nature, or size of development of them. There is no cartilage in the 
kidney or parotid gland, yet a chondroma, or cartilage tumor, may 
develop in either. Even when a new growth of tissue is started by 

1 The term " tumor " literally means a swelling, and thus has been applied to the promi- 
nence caused by an overdistended bladder, to the enlargement of pregnancy, to the swell- 
ing produced by an abscess, to the overgrowth of tissue (hyperplasia) associated with 
injury and consequent inflammation, and to numerous other phases of tissue enlargement 
directly connected with recognized disease processes. For this reason it is becoming more 
common for scientists to apply the word " neoplasm " to the new growths described in 
this chapter. Because of the still popular use of the word " tumor," it is retained in this 
chapter for the designation of those new growths to which the sevenfold characterization 
of our descriptive definition applies. 

301 



302 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

an injury and consequent inflammation — as, for instance, proud 
flesh — there is a limitation of its size, but the controlling influences 
which govern the size of an organ or normal mass of tissue and limit 
the extent of an inflammatory overgrowth are all absent in the case 
of tumors. They are unrestrained, lawless. 

Metastasis expresses the lawlessness of tumors as regards being 
limited to the original site of development. Small particles of tu- 
mors enter the blood vessels or lymph streams and are carried to 
distant parts of the body, where they lodge and start new tumor 
formations. Expansion by colonization in this manner is a rule with 
many tumors, and, since they exercise no function of use to the organ- 
ism, this dissemination of actively growing particles becomes a 
menace to the system by numerically increasing the body's burden, 
opening new channels of drain upon the system and adding new 
centers for the absorption of putrefactive materials when the sec- 
ondary tumors shall have degenerated. It is this which makes me- 
tastasis such an important element in the malignancy of tumors. 

Tumors possess no physiological function. They are absolutely 
useless. Fibrous tumors bind no parts of the organism together; 
bony tumors add nothing to the supporting framework of the body ; 
the tissue of fatty tumors never serves as a storehouse of feed and 
energy; the cells of an adenoma, or gland tumor, furnish no secre- 
tion ; a tumor composed of muscle tissue produces no increase to the 
strength of the individual — its muscle cells are not contractile. 

Tumors arise from cells of preexistent tissue. Tumor tissue is not 
a new variety. Whatever the structure of a tumor, its counter- 
part is found among the tissues of the body, the lawlessness of 
the tumor, however, showing itself in more or less departure from 
the normal type. This departure is usually a reversion to a more 
elementary or embryonic stage, so that the tumor tissues may be said 
to be structurally immature. 

Tumors arise without obvious cause. Concerning the ultimate 
cause of tumor formation -we are absolutely ignorant. Various 
theories have been advanced from time to time, but none of them 
have been applicable to more than a limited number of cases. The 
most important theories may be briefly mentioned. 

(1) The theory of tumor diathesis. — Bilroth taught that tumors 
are caused by a peculiar predisposition consisting of a diseased state 
of the fluids of the body. This constitutional taint might be acquired, 
but, having been acquired, is also hereditary. This theory is known 
also as the heredity hypothesis, but, while it is true that heredity 
appears to play some role in the causation of certain neoplasms, its 
application is too limited to make it of value. 

(2) The mechanical or irritant theory. — Virchow assumed that 
tumors arise as the result of previous irritation of the part. This 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 303 

has been noticed particularly in the case of certain cancers. They 
frequently develop on the edges of old ulcers, thus being dependent 
apparently on chronic irritation. Cancer of the lip in pipe smokers 
is a case in point. Cancerous tumors of the skin often develop on 
the arms of workers in paraffin, tar, or soot, the chemical irritation 
of these substances being the cause. On the contrary, the proportion 
of those thus affected among the exposed is very small and forces 
the conclusion that if the real cause were in the irritation vastly more 
cases would occur. 

(3) The theory of nervous influence. — That is based upon (a) the 
observed fact that tumors occur more frequently in man and the 
higher animals than in those lower in the scale, among which the 
nervous system is less highly developed; (b) that certain formations 
seem to be directly connected with nerve distribution, while others 
have been associated with alternations in neighboring nerve trunks. 

(4) The embryonal theory. — This is known also as Cohnheim's 
hypothesis. In early fetal life there occurs a production of cells in 
excess of those required for the construction of the various parts of 
the body, so that a certain number of them are left over in the fully 
developed tissue or become misplaced during the sorting of cells for 
future development of tissues and organs. These cells lie dormant 
until favorable conditions arise or until some sufficient stimulus is 
applied, when, released from their inactivity, they begin to repro- 
duce and grow. Not being normally related to their site, they lack 
the controlling and limiting influences of the part, and, their embry- 
onic character enduing them with a most potent proliferating 
power, they develop in a lawless and unrestrained manner. There 
are tumors whose existence can be explained only on these grounds. 
Still, this theory falls far short of answering the question as to the 
origin of tumors. 

(5) The parasitic theory. — This is not only one of the latest, but, 
merely as a hypothesis, it is the most attractive and plausible of all. 
The serious objections to it, however, are the almost uniform failure 
that has met the attempts to transplant these tumors from one animal 
to another and the absence of any constant variety of organism in 
them. Several forms of parasites have been found in certain tumors, 
but nothing definite has been shown with reference to the relation 
they bear to the causation of the neoplasm. 

CLASSIFICATION OF TUMORS. 

In Senn's work on tumors occurs the following: "A uniform sys- 
tem of classification of tumors is one of the great wants of modern 
pathology, and all attempts in this direction have proved failures." 
It would be folly, therefore, to burden the pages of a work of this 
kind with one or several of the proposed systems which have, 



304 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

admittedly, at some important point, failed of their purpose. Since 
the value of this chapter depends chiefly upon its practical character, 
which in turn is measured by its aid in diagnosis, prognosis, and 
treatment, the old but important clinical division is here adopted. 

Tumors are either malignant or benign. The essential difference 
between the two classes is that while benign tumors depend for 
their ill effects entirely upon their situation, malignant neoplasms 
wherever located inevitably destroy life. The clinical features of 
each group are in many cases sufficiently marked to distinguish 
them. 

MALIGNANT TUMORS. 

(1) These are invariably pernicious, and from the beginning tend 
to destroy life. 

(2) The cellular element predominates; therefore they grow 
rapidly. 

(3) Possessing no capsule, they infiltrate surrounding tissues. 

(4) They infect adjacent lymph glands. 

(5) They recur even after complete removal. 

(6) They give metastasis; that is, they become disseminated in 
different organs. 

(7) Their presence develops a progressive emaciation. 

BENIGN TUMORS. 

(1) These in and of themselves do not tend to produce death. 

(2) As the cellular element is not liable to predominate, they grow 
slowly. 

(3) They are encapsulated, and when diffuse do not infiltrate sur- 
rounding tissues. 

(4) They do not infect adjacent lymph glands. 

(5) They do not recur after complete removal. 

(6) They do not manifest metastasis. 

Benign tumors, though harmless, may, by the accident of their 
location, indirectly produce death. Mere pressure on the brain 
substance of an otherwise innocent tumor, compression of the blood 
supply for vital organs, growth in such manner as to cause obstruc- 
tion in the alimentary tract or pressure upon nerves, may cause 
death, or, prior to death, so combine the effects of anemia (deficiency 
of blood), starvation, and pain, with its consequent restlessness, as 
to produce a veritable cachexia (condition of general ill health). 

On the other hand, a malignant tumor in its primary growth may 
so implicate a vital organ as to destroy life before metastasis can 
occur or even before cachexia can develop. Thus, to the untrained 
observer, environment may so operate as to cause these two classes 
of new growths to simulate each other. The boundary lines may 



TUMOES AFFECTING CATTLE. 305 

seem to overlap. It is here that the* microscope, as the court of last 
appeal, adjudicates positively in the diagnosis between these two 
clearly marked divisions. 

It may almost be asserted that a true classification of tumors can 
not be made until we know more about the cause of them. The 
arrangement here presented is offered to meet the practical needs of 
the veterinarian, student, and farmer rather than of the pathologist. 

We may roughly divide the tissues of the body into structural and 
lining tissues. The structural tissues are composed of the tissues of 
special function and simple connective tissues. The lining or cover- 
ing tissues, both internal and external, are known as epithelium. 

Section A of the table below contains the true tumors or proper 
neoplasms. 

Section B includes the cysts, some of which are true tumors, while 
others are false ones, but the latter are added because of their gross 
resemblance to the true and the consequent necessity of considering 
them at the same time. 

TUMORS AND CYSTS. 

A. — Tumors. 

benign. 

I. — Tumors composed of tissues resembling those of special function. 

1. Type of muscle tissue Myoma. 

2. Type of nerve tissue Neuroma. 

3. Type of vascular tissue Angioma. 

4. Type of gland tissue Adenoma. 

II. — Tumors composed of fully developed connective tissue. 

1. Type of fibrous tissue Fibroma. 

2. Type of adipose, or fat, tissue Lipoma. 

3. Type of cartilage tissue Chondroma. 

4. Type of osseous, or bone, tissue Osteoma. 

5. Type of neuroglia, or nerve, sheath Glioma. 

C. Type of mucoid, or mucous, tissue Myxoma. 

MALIGNANT. 

III. — Tumors composed of embryonic or immature connective tissues. 

1. Type of immature connective tissue Sarcoma. 

2. Type of endothelial tissue Endothelioma. 

IV. — Tumors in which epithelial elements predominate. 

1. Type of various epithelial cells and associated tissues Carcinoma. 

33071°— 16 20 



306 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

B. — Cysts. 

I. — Cysts which develop in preexisting cavities. 

1 Retention cysts. 

2 Proliferation cysts. 

II. — Cysts which are of congenital origin and are true tumors. 

1 Dermoid cysts. 

III. — Cysts which originate independently as the result of pathological changes 

and are nontumorous. 

1. Cysts formed by the softening and disintegration of lesions — Softening cysts. 

2. Cysts formed around parasites Parasitic cysts. 

3. Cysts formed by an outpouring of blood and lymph into the tissue spaces with 

subsequent encapsulation of the fluid Extravasation cysts. 

Terminology. — The principle of naming tumors is quite simple. 
The Greek word " oma " (plural " omata ") means tumor. This word 
" oma " is added to the stem of the word ordinarily used to designate 
the kind of tissue of which the tumor is composed. Thus a tumor 
formed after the type of fibrous tissue is a fibroma. The only excep- 
tion to this is in the naming of the two large classes of malignant 
neoplasms. There the names were formed from the fleshlike appear- 
ance of the one and the crablike proliferations of the other — namely, 
Sarcoma (sarks = flesh), carcinoma (karkinos= crab). 

Diagnosis. — In the diagnosis of tumors note is taken of (1) clinical 
history and (2) examination of the tumor. 

(1) Clinical history. — Circumstances connected with the origin of 
the tumor and its rapidity of growth may point to an inflammatory 
swelling rather than a tumor. The location of the tumor at its com- 
mencement is important, as, for instance, in diagnosing between 
lipoma and carcinoma, the former being more or less movable under 
the skin, while a carcinoma develops in the skin. While tenderness 
on pressure may be caused by compression of a sensitive nerve by a 
tumor or by tumors of the nerve or nerve sheaths, as a rule this 
symptom is indicative of inflammatory swelling rather than of the 
existence of a tumor. 

(2) Direct examination of the tumor. — In the application of this 
diagnosis the trained observer will note color, size, shape, and surface 
structure, transmission of light, movableness, consistence, resistance, 
pulsation, and crepitation. Percussion, auscultation, and exploration 
are also available methods. Finally, microscopic examination of the 
growing portions of the tumor by a pathologist will be found most 
satisfactory. 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 307 

GENERAL TREATMENT OF TUMORS. 

For benign tumors treatment is required only when it damages the 
animal's value or when merely for sake of appearance. When it is 
possible, the removal of the tumor by an operation is indicated. If 
the tumor has a small, constricted base, remove by torsion, ligation, or 
with an ecraseur. Ligation following the incision of the skin with a 
knife avoids the pain of pressing on the sensitive nerves of the skin 
and is suitable for tumors of broad base and small bodies. A firing 
iron, such as is used in line or feather firing, may also be used in 
removing tumors with small attachments. This not only stops the 
bleeding but forms a firm scab, under which healing may occur rap- 
idly. Those tumors that can not be removed by the above methods 
may be treated with caustics or acids, such as sulphuric acid, hydro- 
chloric acid, caustic potash, arsenic, silver nitrate, or chromic acid, 
but it is difficult to limit the action of these drugs. The injection, 
into the tumor, of such chemicals as anilin dyes, alcohol, acetic 
acid, citric acid, or ergotin, is of doubtful value, as is also the in- 
jection of the germs of erysipelas — thought by some to be a specific. 
Certain specific tumors, such as actinomycosis and botryomycosis, 
may be successfully treated by the- internal administration of potas- 
sium iodid, together with the injection into the tumor or the painting 
of its surface with either Lugol's solution or the tincture of iodin. 
The most reliable means of treating tumors is by extirpation with 
cutting instruments. Dissect the tumor from the surrounding tissue, 
ligating all the larger blood vessels, and tearing the tissues with the 
fingers rather than cutting with a knife. The bleeding may be 
stopped with a hot iron. The after treatment is the same as for any 
ordinary wound of similar size. 

DESCRIPTION OF INDIVIDUAL TUMORS. 

Although a full list of the tumors that may be found in bovines has 
been given above, there are a number that warrant a detailed descrip- 
tion, and the following mention will be made of the most important 
of them: 

MYOMA. 

These tumors are after the type of muscle. They are sharply cir- 
cumscribed and, as a rule, are very hard, a condition owing usually to 
combination with fibroma and are then known as fibromyoma. In 
fact, the clinical differentiation between myoma and fibroma is almost 
impossible. Myomas are found in the uterus, vagina, stomach, intes- 
tines, gullet, and bladder of a bovine animal. They grow very large, 
but, as a rule, are benign. Treatment should consist of their removal. 



308 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

NEUROFIBROMA. 

A true neuroma built up of nerve fibers and nerve cells is infre- 
quent, if it ever occurs, in cattle. False neuromas, or neurofibromas, 
are knotty, spreading tumors of the size of a large potato, which are 
developed within the nerve sheaths and composed of nerve fibers and 
connective tissue bands interlaced. The commingling of these varied 
fibers is often so intricate that separation is practically impossible. 
This tumor is most frequently found upon the shoulder of cattle. 
Treatment is surgical. 

ANGIOMA. 

The angiomas are tumors composed mainly of blood vessels or 
blood spaces and are observed on the skin of man, where they are 
called " birthmarks " or " mother marks." Cavernous angiomas are 
seen in cattle, affecting the liver and the mucous membrane of the 
nasal septum. In the liver they appear as smooth, flat, nonprojecting 
tumors of a dark-red or purple color and of about the size of a silver 
10-cent piece. They are somewhat softer in consistency than the 
adjoining liver substance into which they are gradually fused. 
These tumors are frequently observed by meat inspectors in livers 
of slaughtered cattle. Treatment of angioma is unnecessary. 

ADENOMA. 

The structure of this tumor is after the type of gland tissue. It is 
rarely seen in cattle except in combination with cancer or sarcoma. 
A growth which occurs more frequently in bovines, especially calves, 
and which in some instances bears a striking resemblance to an 
adenoma is the so-called goiter. 

GOITER (STRUMA). 

This is a noninflammatory enlargement or a hyperplasia of the thy- 
roid gland. While it can not be definitely classed among tumors, 
yet, owing to its resemblance to the latter, it will be discussed at this 
time. The cause of goiter has never been definitely ascertained. 
Among the most probable causes may be mentioned heredity, insuffi- 
cient and improper diet, close confinement, unhygienic surroundings, 
and an unknown toxic substance which is supposed to obtain in those 
localities rich in magnesium and lime salts. Certain organisms found 
in goiter have been suspected of producing this trouble, but their 
relation to the disease has not been satisfactorily proved. A goiter 
may consist of (1) simple enlargement of the follicles which are filled 
with albuminous matter (follicular goiter) ; (2) an increase of con- 
nective tissues between the follicles, causing the swelling to be dense 
and resistant (fibrous goiter) ; (3) a great increase in size of one or 
more follicles, forming a cyst (cystic goiter) ; (4) great dilatation of 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. • 309 

the blood vessels in the gland accompanied with pulsation with each 
heart beat (vascular goiter). 

/Symptoms. — Goiter may be observed at the side of the throat, 
reaching the size of a fist or even larger, or it may hang down below 
the windpipe. In cattle the two thyroid glands are close together, 
and when the disease affects both there may be but one uniform swell- 
ing placed in front of the windpipe below the angle of the jaw. This 
swelling may be hard, soft, or doughy in consistence, and with each 
beat of the heart it may pulsate like an artery. It may cause labored 
breathing by pressure on the windpipe, and death may result from 
pressure on this structure, on the gullet, or on the adjoining large 
vessels. 

Treatment. — In young animals the treatment is usually satisfac- 
tory, and consists in giving the animal a complete change of feed and 
plenty of exercise in the open air. If the condition appears enzootic 
in the district, remove the animal to another location when possible. 
Iodin, either in the form of ointment or the tincture, should be ap- 
plied to the swelling. Injections of iodin solution, 5 grains of iodin 
in 1 dram of 25 per cent alcohol, may also be made into the substance 
of the gland. When the swelling which follows this injection has 
subsided it may be repeated. Potassium iodid should be given 
internally in 1^-dram doses twice daily for a cow, or in 20-grain doses 
twice a day for a calf. Extirpation of all but a small section of the 
swelling may be successfully accomplished by a qualified veterinarian, 
but if it should be entirely removed, myxedema and death follow. 

FIBROMA. 

Fibromas are tumors made up chiefly of connective tissue and are 
usually confined to the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Indurative 
fibromas of the skin appear as tumors of gelatinous connective tissue 
or as firm, white vascular connective tissue growths, which are more 
or less sharply outlined, move readily over the underlying tissues in 
company with the skin, and owe their origin to mechanical injuries, 
perforating wounds, repeated abrasions, or the invasion of pus cocci 
or botryomyces into the tissues. 

These tumors in cattle are frequently found upon the dewlap as 
solid lumps, hard as stone to the touch, lying loosely between the 
layers of skin, and gradually losing themselves in the softer tissues of 
the neck above, or as smooth, hard tumors of glistening white sub- 
stance with interlacing lines of softer tissue. They may also be found 
in the region of the knee or at the elbow. The skin over the growths, 
in accordance with the originating cause, will be found chafed, cov- 
ered with scabs, or even ulcerated and accompanied with collateral 
edema. 



310 ' DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

These connective tissue tumors grow slowly but reach enormous 
size. They sometimes follow injuries to the region of the throat and 
form there as hard, firm growth, even reaching the size of a child's 
head. 

A fibroma upon the larynx is not an infrequent occurrence in the 
ox. These tumors are always sharply outlined and have a roughened 
surface. They may be differentiated from actinomycotic tumors (see 
chapter on " Infectious diseases of cattle," p. 356) in the same location 
by their firm, fibrous structure and by the absence of pus from the 
interior. 

A tumor is sometimes seen upon the muzzle of cattle, which assumes 
a diameter equaling the width of the muzzle. It is a voluminous con- 
nective tissue formation known by the name of " fibroma diffusum." 

Another form is sometimes observed upon the tongue. It grows 
upon a broad, spreading base, becoming very hard. It is almost 
lacking in blood vessels, although the few that are present are plainly 
in view, and in consequence is poorly supplied with fluids. It is of 
a smooth contour, white or whitish yellow in color, is sharply limited 
from the normal substance of the tongue, may be covered with mucous 
membrane, on which prominent papillae are located, or only by a thin, 
delicate layer of epithelium, and is usually found in the middle part 
of the tongue, where it may reach the size of two fists. 

Pedunculate or stemmed fibrous tumors are frequently noticed 
growing upon or near the extremity of the tails of cows. They are 
apparently of traumatic origin, such as tying the tail fast while milk- 
ing or shaving it too closely while trimming for show purposes, and 
usually contain bloody or gelatinous material within, or, again, they 
may be strongly edematous throughout. 

Treatment. — The treatment of large fibromas is surgical and con- 
sists of the operative removal of the tumor, followed by suturing of 
the wound. Small external tumors may be painted with zinc chlorid, 
chromic acid, or a concentrated solution of bichlorid of mercury. 

PAPILLOMA (WART). 

When fibromas develop from the lining or covering tissues they 
frequently form papillary growths, more or less thickly covered 
with epithelium, and are then called papillomas, or warts. 

Papillomas consist of villouslike projections, resulting from a 
proliferation of the outer layer (epithelium) of the skin or mucous 
membrane. These growths are also called " angle berries," and 
may assume a variety of forms. Sometimes there is a preponderance 
of epidermis in the formation, and the tumor then appears as a hard, 
dense, insensitive, clublike growth, or wart. Again the swelling is 
chiefly in the derm, or true skin, and we have what is known as a 
flesh wart (verucca carnea). In other cases the growth of papillar 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 311 

bodies projects in great cauliflowerlike tumors with deeply furrowed 
and lobulated surface, over which a covering of epidermis may or 
may not be present. These are usually much softer and are well 
supplied with blood vessels. It is not uncommon for them to be 
pedunculate or stemmed, and in this case considerable rotary motion 
or twisting is possible. Their color is cloudy gray or grayish red, 
with white bands of connective tissue radiating from the center. 
Their consistence varies. Upon their surfaces and within their clefts 
and fissures they undergo retrogressive changes, softening, bleeding, 
or ulcerations. 

A favorite location for the papilloma in cattle is the udder and 
teats, where they may develop in such numbers as to cover the entire 
surface and make the animal troublesome to milk. The sides of the 
head, neck, and shoulders also afford satisfactory conditions for 
their growth, and are frequently seen to be affected by them. 

Treatment. — Warts may be removed with the scissors, twisted off 
with the fingers, or ligatured by means of a rubber band or horse- 
hair. The roots should then be cauterized with tincture of iron, 
glacial acetic acid, or lunar caustic. Acids should never be used in 
removing warts about the eyes or in the mouth. Papillomas of the 
eyelids sometimes change to cancers and should be removed by taking 
out a wedge-shaped section of the eyelid. Young cattle should be 
given arsenic internally in the form of Fowler's solution, 1 table- 
spoonful twice a day for a 6-months-old calf. 

POLYPS. 

Polyps are usually fibromas or myxomas, occurring on the mucous 
membrane of the nasal passages or genital tract. They grow upon 
a narrow stem, bleed readily when injured, and often contain a 
center of thin, limpid fluid. A bloody discharge is sometimes seen 
coming from the affected nostril, but this is not always easy of 
detection in cattle, owing to the pliancy of their tongues and to their 
habit of licking an irritated nostril. Usually these tumors grow 
downward and may project from the nostril, causing snoring sounds 
and uneasy breathing. They may occasionally force themselves back- 
ward into the throat, where they interfere seriously with respiration, 
the patient being obliged to breathe with an effort, and even forced 
to cough in order to dislodge temporarily the obstruction from the 
larynx. Such tumors, when near the nostril, may easily be removed 
by the use of forceps or a loop made of bailing wire. Serious bleed- 
ing is not liable to follow their removal, but an astringent wash, such 
as a solution of the perchlorid of iron, if applied to the cut surface, 
will be found very beneficial. In case the tumor is not w T ithin easy 
reach, the services of a qualified veterinarian should be obtained to 
perform the necessary operation. 



312 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

LIPOMA. 

This is a tumor consisting chiefly of fat cells. The growth is 
irregularly rounded and distinctly lobulated, very soft, and almost 
fluctuating. It is insensitive, grows slowly, and is always inclosed 
in a distinct fibrous capsule, from which it can be easily shelled out. 
It may become very large and often hangs pendulous from a long, 
elastic pedicle. In cattle this tumor may be found in the subcu- 
taneous tissues, especially of the back and shoulders, uterus, and 
intestines, and in the latter position it may cause strangulation, or 
" gut tie," by winding around a loop of the intestine. 

Treatment. — When found on the skin the tumor may be readily 
removed with a knife or by a ligature. Caustics and the cautery 
produce wounds that heal slowly and can not be recommended in the 
treatment of this tumor. 

CHONDROMA. 

This tumor formation is composed of cartilage cells. It is a 
rounded and very often unevenly nodular and sharply described 
tumor. It is very hard, dense, elastic, and painless and develops 
principally where we find normal cartilage cells. It is rare in cattle, 
but has been found in the subcutaneous tissues and nasal cavities. 

Treatment. — Extirpation. 

OSTEOMA (BONY TUMOR). 

Bones may occasionally grow in such a profuse and irregular 
manner that the product, or osteophyte, assumes the character of a 
tumor. The bone tissue may possess either spongy or compact prop- 
erties and grow either from the periphery of the bone or within its 
interior. These tumors most frequently appear about the head of 
the animal, either upon the jawbones, within the nasal passages, or 
in connection with the horns. They are usually of bony hardness, 
painless, benign, and sharply outlined. 

Treatment. — The treatment consists in either removing them with 
a saw, chisel, or trephine, or preventing their further development 
by counterirritation with blisters or firing iron. 

MYXOMA. 

Characteristic myxomas are mucoid tumors which chiefly originate 
from the mucous membrane and are especially to be found within 
the nasal passages and uterus of cattle. They can reach a size of 
three fists, are smooth or velvetlike, or may be lobulated, broad at the 
base, and consist of a glassy-looking mass of connective tissue, which 
usually shows a distinctive yellowish color. Being homogeneous and 
elastic, the moist, jellylike tissue composing the tumor may be easily 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 313 

destroyed or crushed. When cut through, these tumors soon collapse 
from the loss of their fluids. They sometimes inclose elliptical cavi- 
ties filled with slimy, gelatinous masses. 
Treatment. — Extirpation. 

SARCOMA. 

This is a malignant tumor after the type of embryonal tissue, and 
consists of several varieties, such as the round cell, spindle cell, 
giant cell, alveolar, and melanosarcoma. They grow by preference 
in connective tissue and are quite vascular. Sarcomas appear either 
as single or multiple nodules, varying in size from a hempseed to a 
hazelnut, or else as a moderate number of tumors of the size of hen 
eggs. Their surface, at first smooth, later becomes lumpy and tuber- 
ous from internal degeneration. Secondary nodules may appear 
near the primary tumor. The outer skin is not involved so soon as 
in cancer, nor does ulceration follow so rapidly. Sarcoma is about 
the most frequent and dangerous tumor that is found in cattle. It 
occurs in young animals, and is found on the serous membranes, in 
the glandular organs, and on the outer skin, especially of the neck 
and shoulders — in fact, in nearly every tissue and in almost every 
part of the body. This tumor is often found in places exposed to 
traumatisms and at seats of scars, or of irritations from pressure and 
inflammation. 

Treatment. — Treatment should consist in early and complete re- 
moval by the knife, including one-half or three-quarters of an inch 
of the sound tissue adjoining the tumor. If there is a possibility 
that sarcomatous tissue still remains, either cauterize the wound with 
a hot iron or powder the walls of the cavity with arsenious acid. 

CANCER (CARCINOMA). 

Cancers are tumors of epithelial tissues and are malignant. There 
are several varieties of cancers, such as hard, soft, and colloid, but 
only those growing on the surface will be mentioned here. These 
malignant tumors of the superficial organs develop primarily from 
the epidermis or from the glands of the skin. They appear second- 
arily as spreading infections from milk glands, thryoids, anal glands, 
or as embolisms. In such cases their sole character depends wholly 
upon the kind of cancer from which they have sprung. The infil- 
trating cancer begins as an elevation of the skin, which progresses 
until it becomes rough and nodular. The surface later becomes 
attacked, and an ulcer results whose edges are outlined by a hard, 
firm zone. 

The ulcerations may remain limited by cicatricial tissue, but it is 
more likely that the infiltration and destruction of tissue will spread 
out wider and deeper until a rodent ulcer (so called) is formed. 
One of the most frequent sites of cancer in cattle is in the eye, where 



314 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

they are called fungus nematodes, but they also occur on the skin, 
on the genitals, in the stomach, and within the organs. 

Fungus hematodes. — This starts at the inner corner of the eye as 
a papillary elevation or as small nodules which become fused. They 
grow larger and become papillomatous, with superficial ulcerations 
and a tendency toward hemorrhage. In some cases the eye is dis- 
placed by the growing tumor or is attacked by the cancer cells and 
entirely destroyed. 

Cancerous growths upon the external genitals and the anus usually 
present a rough, irregular surface from which there is a constant 
sloughing of decomposed tissue accompanied with a penetrating dis- 
agreeable odor. 

The diagnosis of cancer may be made clinically by noting the 
simultaneous infection of the lymph glands which surround the pri- 
mary lesion. Deeply burrowing and infiltrating forms which ap- 
pear as lumps and ulcerations cause marked disfiguration of the 
affected part. The surface becomes a soft, greasy mass; later it 
cracks open and from the fissures blood-colored pus exudes, being 
continually formed by the moist degeneration of the tissues beneath. 
At first the general health of the animal does not appear affected, 
but later the cancer nodules spread to important organs and give 
rise to marasmus and progressive emaciation. Cancer is not a fre- 
quent tumor of cows. Frohner states that of 75 cases of tumors in 
cattle which came under his observation 2, or 2.6 per cent, were 
found to be cancers, while 20, or 26.6 per cent, were sarcomas. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists in the early and complete removal 
of the tumor, taking care to include a wide border of healthy tissue. 
This has been most successful in such superficial cancers as those of 
the eye, penis, anus, testicle, vulva, and sheath. If the disease has 
advanced too far, this treatment may not prove efficacious, owing to 
the great malignancy of the cancer and its tendency to recur. In 
such cases the animal may be slaughtered, but the flesh should be 
used for food only after inspection by a competent veterinarian. 

CYSTS. 

Cysts may be true or false tumors and consist of a capsule contain- 
ing a fluid or semisolid content. Among the most important cysts, 
which have been briefly referred to in a previous table, the following 
are probably the most noteworthy, owing to the frequency with which 
they are found in bovines : 

SOFTENING CYSTS. 

Softening cysts, which result from the degenerative liquefaction of 
normal or diseased tissues, especially of tumors of different kinds, 
followed by the encapsulation of the fluid. 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 315 

PARASITIC CYSTS. 

Parasitic or foreign-body cysts, from the inflammatory reaction 
induced by such parasites as the echinococcus (hydatid cyst) or by 
the presence of various kinds of foreign bodies. 

EXTRAVASATION CYSTS. 

Extravasation cysts, caused by injuries which rupture blood ves- 
sels, followed by an increase of fibrous tissue which forms a capsule 
about the fluid. The hygromata in front of the knee in cattle, so- 
called tumor of the knee, and serous cysts belong to this variety. 

Hygromata, or tumors of the knee. — These consist in the 
simplest form of a collection of serous fluid mixed with fibrin within 
a distended bursa. The walls surrounding the fluid become firm, 
smooth, and dense. 

Outwardly the tumor appears fluctuating, though tense, while the 
skin which covers it may be normal, denuded of hair, or covered 
with hard epidermal scales, possibly half an inch in thickness, form- 
ing a hard, horny plate. The cavity which contains the fluid may 
have the dimensions of a hen's egg, an apple, or a child's head. Its 
walls are formed by the diseased secreting membrane of the bursal 
sac, and are readily detachable from the subcutis of the skin. Their 
internal surfaces are often uneven or supplied with projections or 
tufted growths which support a fibrous network within the tumor. 

Tumors of the knee may also assume a granular type, as the result 
of chronic inflammation or following operative or spontaneous evac- 
uation of pus from the part. They are either firmly connected with 
the skin or are detachable from it, and when laid open disclose a 
whitish-red, porklike tissue surrounding a central nucleus of pus, or 
a fistulous tract leading to the outer surface. They are caused by the 
chronic inflammation which follows the bruises received by cattle in 
lying down and in rising, or they may be due to falls on uneven, hard 
ground. 

Treatment for hygromata. — When the swelling first appears cold 
water should be applied, followed later by bandaging with cloths 
wrung out of warm water. If the swelling is soft, it should be punc- 
tured at the lowest point, and afterwards the cavity should be 
syringed with Lugol's solution. If the tumor is hard and nonfluctu- 
ating, a mercurial blister may cause absorption and at the same time 
prevent further injury to the part by making it more painful, thus 
sparing it. 

Serous cysts. — These swellings are another variety of extravasa- 
tion cysts, and are caused by such injuries as butting, running 
against hard objects, and shipping bruises, which are followed by an 
outpouring of blood and lymph into the tissue spaces. These cysts 



316 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

develop rapidly and may reach the size of a man's head or even 
larger. They are soft, edematous, and hot at first and contain a 
serous or blood-tinged fluid. Later, partially organized clots and 
shreds of a fibrinous nature and of a gelatinous consistence are 
formed within, and the temperature of the swelling is reduced. 
They appear on the surface of the body, especially on the belly and 
flank of cattle. 

Treatment of serous cysts. — Treatment consists in opening the cyst 
at the most dependent point with a sharp knife. The cavity should 
be washed out twice daily with a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid, 
and drainage encouraged by keeping the incision open. 

DERMOID CYSTS. 

These cysts have a wall which is almost an exact duplicate of the 
structure of the skin, and frequently contain epidermal structures, 
such as hair and teeth, which, in the development of the embryo, have 
been misplaced. Thus we may find in an ovary or testicle a dermoid 
cyst, containing a tooth or a ball of hair. Dental cysts are included 
in the class above. 

Dental cysts. — It happens occasionally that the teeth of cattle, in- 
stead of developing normally within strong supporting alveolae, re- 
main inclosed within a cystic membrane, which assumes a tumorlike 
character. One tooth may be included alone in the cyst or a number 
may be inclosed together. However this may be, the malformation 
progresses, especially if confined to the incisor teeth, until the remain- 
ing teeth that began to develop normally are crowded out of posi- 
tion and rendered useless. The tumor may reach the size of a man's 
fist. It appears to be fleshy and dents upon pressure, but it may also 
appear on closer examination as though it contained irregular sec- 
tions of thin bone. The outer surface is always smooth, and no 
indication of purulence, softening, or scab formation is ever ex- 
hibited. Upon being laid open with the knife the tumor is seen to be 
surrounded by a firm, smooth membrane which limits it completely 
from the adjoining tissues. It is filled with material which possesses 
partly edematous, partly fleshy, and partly bony properties. It is 
supposed that this mass is composed of rudiments of the jawbone or 
of the alveolar walls which, becoming spongy, lose themselves in the 
soft, fleshy mass contained within the capsule of the tumor. It oc- 
casionally happens that the tumor is hollow and that the cavity ex- 
tends back into the body of the lower jaw for a considerable distance. 

Tumors of this kind, being of congential origin, are very naturally 
observed most frequently in young cattle, but they may continue to 
expand for a period of several months after the birth of the calf, 
even until they become troublesome and unsightly. 



TUMORS AFFECTING CATTLE. 317 

Treatment for dental cysts. — Treatment consists in the complete 
extirpation of the cyst and the destruction of the lining pouch by 
curetting. 

RETENTION CYSTS. 

Retention cysts arise from the retention of normal secretions, 
owing to obstruction of a duct leading from a gland. The mucous 
cysts found in the mouth, udder, and vestibule of cows are samples 
of this form. 

Mucous cysts. — Saclike dependent tumors, caused by retention of 
the secretions from the mucous glands, sometimes develop in the 
mouth, nose, pharynx, and vulva of cattle. They are called " mucous 
cysts." These are of sizes varying from peas to pigeon eggs, are 
roundish and translucent, and surrounded by a delicate, vascular mem- 
brane. They contain a siruplike substance more or less thick and 
transparent and whitish yellow in color. 

Treatment consists in the puncturing of the swelling, if accessible, 
and the destruction of the cyst walls by the injection of Lugol's 
solution. 

PROLIFERATION CYSTS. 

These are found especially in the ovaries of cows, called " cystic 
ovaries," and may produce nymphomania (chronic bulling). 

The treatment indicated in this case is the removal of the diseased 
ovaries. 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

By M. R. Trumbower, D. V. S. 
[Revised by John R. Mohler, V. M. D.] 

GENERAL DISCUSSION. 

The skin consists of two parts — a superficial layer, the epidermis, 
or cuticle, and the deep, or true, skin, the dermis, cutis vera, or 
corium. 

The epidermis, cuticle, or scarf skin, is an epithelial structure, 
forming a protective covering to the corium. It varies in thickness, 
is quite insensible and nonvascular, and consists of a sheet of cells. 

The epidermis is divided into a firm and transparent superficial 
and a deep, soft layer. The latter is the rete mucosum, whose cells 
contain the pigment which gives color to the skin. The deep sur- 
face of the epidermis is accurately molded on the papillary layer of 
the true skin, and, when removed by maceration, presents depres- 
sions which correspond to the elevations on the dermis. From the 
cuticle tubular prolongations pass into the sebaceous and sudorific 
glands ; thus the entire surface of the body is inclosed by the cuticle. 

The dermis, or true skin, is vascular and highly sensitive, contain- 
ing the tactile ends of the nerves of touch. It is covered by epi- 
dermis and attached to the underlying parts by a layer of areolar 
tissue, which usually contains fat. The cutis consists of a fibro- 
areolar tissue and vessels of supply. It is divided into two layers, 
the deep, or true, corium and the upper, or papillary. The corium 
consists of strong interlacing fibrous bands, chiefly white; its meshes 
are larger and more open toward the attached surface, giving lodg- 
ment to the sweat glands and fat. The papillary, or superficial, 
layer is formed of a series of small conical eminences or papillae, 
which are highly sensitive, and consists of a homogenous, transparent 
tissue. The blood vessels form dense capillary plexuses in the 
corium, terminating by loops in the papilla?. The papillary nerves 
run in a waving manner, usually terminating in loops. 

Hair is an appendage of the skin and forms its external covering. 
It is a special modification of epidermis, having the same essential 
structure, and consists of a root, shaft, and point. The root has a 
bulbous extremity, is lighter and softer than the stem, and is lodged 
in a recess or hair follicle, which may either be in the corium or sub- 
cutaneous areola?. The follicle is dilated at the bottom to correspond 
318 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 319 

to the root bulb, and the ducts of one or more sebaceous glands open 
into it. At the bottom of each follicle is a concial, vascular papilla, 
similar in every respect to those on the surface of the dermis; this 
papilla fits into a corresponding depression in the root of the hair. 
The shaft consists of a center, or medulla, a surrounding fibrous 
portion, and an external coating, or cortex. The medulla consists 
of cells containing pigment or fat, is opaque, and deeply colored. 
All kinds of hair do not have this medulla. The fibrous portion 
occupies the bulk of the stem, and the cortex is merely a single 
layer of thin, flat, imbricated (shinglelike) scales. 

The sebaceous glands, lodged in the corium, are most abundant in 
parts exposed to friction. They generally open into the hair follicles, 
occasionally on the surface of the body. Each gland consists of a 
small duct which terminates in a lobulated recess. These lobules 
vary, and are, as is the duct, lined with epithelium. They are filled 
with sebaceous matter which, as it is secreted, is detached into the 
sacs. They are very plentiful between the claws of cattle. 

The sudorific glands, or sweat glands, are situated in the subcuta- 
neous areolar tissue, surrounded by a quantity of fat. They are 
small, round, reddish bodies, each of which consists of one or more 
fine tubes coiled into a ball, the free end of the tube being continued 
up through the true skin and cuticle, and opening on the surface. 
Each sweat gland is supplied with a cluster of capillary blood ves- 
sels which vary in size, being very large when perspiration is exces- 
sive. The contents of the smaller ones are fluid, and of the larger, 
semifluid. 

The skin may be regarded as an organ supplementary in its action 
to the lungs and kidneys, since by its secretion it is capable of remov- 
ing a considerable quantity of water from the blood ; it also removes 
small quantities of carbon dioxid of salts, and in certain instances 
during suppression of the renal secretions a small quantity of urea. 
The skin is also the chief organ for the regulation of animal heat, 
by or through conduction, radiation, and evaporation of water, per- 
mitting of loss of heat, while it also, through other mechanisms, is 
able to regulate the heat lost. The hair furnishes protection against 
extreme and sudden variations of temperature by reason of the fact 
that hairs are poor conductors of heat, and inclose between them a 
still layer of air, itself a nonconductor. The hairs are also furnished 
with an apparatus by which the loss of heat may be regulated ; thus, 
in cold weather, through the contraction of unstriped muscular fibers 
of the skin, the hairs become erect and the external coat becomes 
thicker. Cold, too, acts as a stimulus to the growth of hair, and we 
find, in consequence, a thicker coat in winter than in summer. The 
hairs also furnish protection against wet, as they are always more 
or less oily from the secretion of sebaceous glands, and thus shed 



320 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

water. Through their elasticity they furnish mechanical protection, 
and through the thickness of the coat, to a certain degree, resist the 
attacks of insects. Finally, the hairs assist the sense of touch. 

The sweat glands are constantly discharging a watery secretion in 
the form of insensible perspiration, and by their influence act as 
regulators of the temperature of the body ; hence, in warm weather, 
the secretion of the skin is increased, which tends to prevent over- 
heating. Sweating, in addition to regulating heat, is also an active 
agent in removing effete material from the blood; therefore this 
secretion can not be checked without danger. If the skin is covered 
with an impermeable coating of grease or tar, death results from 
blood poisoning, owing to the retention of materials destined to be 
excreted by the skin. 

All secretion poured out by the skin is not only modified by the 
condition of the atmosphere but also by the character and quantity 
of the food, by the amount of exercise, and especially by the quantity 
of fluid taken. 

The sebaceous secretion is intended to lubricate the skin and hairs. 
It consists of soft, fatty material suspended in water, and is charac- 
terized by an odor peculiar to the animal by which it is secreted. 

I will not attempt to classify the various diseases of the skin, for 
in a work of this kind it would serve only to confuse the reader. 

We shall first consider a class of diseases which are of an inflamma- 
tory type; next, those caused by faulty secretion and abnormal 
growth ; then, diseases of parasitic origin ; lastly, local injuries of 
the skin. 

PRURITIS (ITCHING). 

We shall consider pruritis first as a distinct subject. It is not a 
disease, only a sensation, and therefore a symptom. It is one of the 
symptoms accompanying the majority of the diseases which we will 
consider in this chapter. It is, then, a functional affection produced 
by slight irritation from without or by an internal cause acting 
upon the sensory nerves of the skin. Nothing characteristic is seen 
except the secondary lesions, produced mechanically by scratching or 
rubbing. 

There are various forms of itching, the result of specific skin dis- 
eases, where the pruritis is a secondary symptom. In such cases it 
should not be regarded as an independent affection. 

Causes. — Many causes may induce the condition which we recog- 
nize here as pruritis. The most common one is dirt on the skin, 
resulting from insufficient care. If the ceiling of the stable is open, 
so that dust and straw may fall, the skin is irritated and pruritis 
results. It also occurs in some forms of indigestion. 

The parts of the body most exposed to this condition are the croup, 
the back, the top of the neck, and the root of the tail. 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 321 

Another cause is found in affections of the liver and of the kidneys, 
when an increase of effete material has to be thrown off by the skin. 
Morbid materials circulating in the blood may produce a tickling or 
smarting sensation of the skin in their passage from the blood to the 
free surface of the skin. Certain irritating substances when eaten 
may be excreted by the skin, and coming thus in direct contact with 
the sensory nerves produce itching, or may go further and cause dis- 
tinct inflammation of the skin. In another class of cases the pruritis 
may be ascribable to an atrophy, contraction, or hardening of the 
skin, when the nerves become irritated by the pressure. These con- 
ditions may be so slightly marked in a thick skin like that of the ox 
that they can not be recognized. It is frequently noticed that cattle 
rub themselves as soon as they pass from the stable into the open 
air — changing from a warm to a cold atmosphere. Again, we may 
find one that does all its rubbing in the stall. We may look for lice, 
but fail to find them. These conditions are generally attributable to 
high feeding and to too close confinement. They may be associated 
with inflammatory irritation or not ; certainly we fail to discover any 
morbid changes in the skin. There is to some extent a delightful 
sensation produced by rubbing, and it may partly become a habit 
of pleasure. 

Treatment. — We must place our chief reliance upon a change of 
food, plenty of exercise, and in most cases the administration of an 
active cathartic — 1 to \\ pounds of Epsom salt, a handful of com- 
mon salt, a tablespoonful of ginger or pepper, mixed with 2 quarts 
of water, all of which is to be given at one dose. Afterwards half 
an ounce of hyposulphite of soda mixed with the feed may be given 
twice a day for a week. For an external application, when the skin 
is abraded or thickened from rubbing, a solution of borax, 4 ounces 
to the quart of water, may be used. Carbolic acid, \ ounce to a 
quart of water, will give relief in some cases. 

INFLAMMATORY DISEASES OF THE SKIN 

ERYTHEMA. 

This is the simplest form of inflammation of the skin. It consists 
of an increased redness, which may occur in patches or involve con- 
siderable surface. The red coloration disappears when pressed by 
the finger, but soon returns after the pressure is removed. There is 
seldom much swelling of the affected part, though often there is a 
glutinous discharge which dries and mats the hair or forms a thin 
scale upon the skin. In simple erythema the epidermis alone is 
affected ; when it becomes chronic, fissures form and extend into the 
corium, or true skin. 

Causes. — Simple erythema, consisting of an inflammatory irrita- 
tion, is seen in very young calves, in which the navels leak. The dis- 
33071°— 16 21 



322 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

charge being urine, it causes an irritation of the surrounding skin. 
Chafing, which is another form of erythema, is occasionally seen 
on the udder of cows from rubbing by the legs; chafing between 
the legs is not uncommon among fat steers. Chronic erythema is 
found in the form of chapped teats of cows and chapped lips in 
sucking calves. It frequently occurs in cows when they are turned 
out in winter directly after milking, and in others from chafing by 
the sucking calf. Some cows are peculiarly subject to sore teats. 
The fissures when neglected in the early stage of formation become 
deep, very painful, often bleeding at the slightest touch, and when 
milked in that condition cause the animal to become a kicker. Occa- 
sionally the lower portions of the legs become irritated and chapped 
when cattle are fed in a muddy or wet yard in winter, or if they are 
compelled to wade through water in frosty weather. Another form 
of erythema occurs in young cattle highly fed and closely stabled for 
a long winter. The erythema appears in patches, and as it is most 
common near the end of the winter it is known as the " spring erup- 
tion " or " spring itch." 

Treatment. — In ordinary cases of erythema the removal of the 
cause and the application of benzoated oxid of zinc ointment, car- 
bolized cosmoline, or ichthyol ointment applied a few times, will 
restore the skin to a healthy condition. 

When there are fissures the zinc ointment is the best. If at the 
teats, a milk siphon (PI. XXIV, fig. 4) should be used instead of 
milking by hand, and the calf, if one is suckled, should be taken away. 
The calf should be fed by hand if its mouth is affected. When the 
legs are irritated or chapped, dry stabling for a few days and the 
application of tar ointment will soon heal them. 

URTICARIA (NETTLE RASH, OR SURFEIT). 

This is a mild, inflammatory affection of the skin, characterized by 
sudden development of patches of various sizes, from that of a nickel 
to one as large as the hand. The patches of raised skin are marked 
by an abrupt border and are irregular in form. All the swelling may 
disappear in a few hours, or it may go away in one place and reap- 
pear on another part of the body. It is always accompanied with 
a great desire to rub the affected part. In its simplest type, as just 
described, it is never followed by any serous exudation or eruptions, 
unless the surface of the skin becomes abraded from scratching or 
rubbing. 

Causes. — Digestive derangements caused by overloading the stom- 
ach when the animal is turned out to graze in the spring, certain 
feed constituents, high feeding of fattening stock, functional de- 
rangement of the kidneys, spinal and other nervous affections, are 
the most common sources of nettle rash. 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 323 

The disease consists in paralysis of the nerve ends that control the 
volume of the capillary vessels in certain areas of skin, thus permit- 
ting the vessels to expand, their contents in part to exude, and thus 
produce a soft, circumscribed swelling. 

Treatment. — Administer a full dose of Epsom salt. Give soft, 
easily digested feed, and wash the affected parts with a solution of 
bicarbonate of soda (common baking soda), 8 ounces to the gallon of 
water twice a day, or diluted glycerin may be applied to the skin. 
If it assumes a persistent tendency, give a tablespoonful of the 
following powder in the feed three times a day: Cream of tartar, 
sulphur, and nitrate of potassium, equal parts by weight; mix. 

ECZEMA. 

Eczema is a noncontagious inflammation of the skin, characterized 
by any or all of the results of inflammation at once or in succession, 
such as erythema, vesicles, or pustules, accompanied with more or 
less infiltration and itching, terminating in a watery discharge, with 
the formation of crusts or in scaling off. The disease may run an 
acute course and then disappear, or it may become chronic ; therefore 
two varieties are recognized, vesicular (or pustular) and chronic 
eczema. 

Causes. — Eczema is not so common among cattle as in horses and 
in dogs, in which it is the most common of all skin diseases. Among 
cattle it is occasionally observed under systems of bad hygiene, filthi- 
ness, lousiness, overcrowding, overfeeding, excessively damp or too 
warm stables. It is found to develop now and then in cattle that are 
fed upon sour substances, distillery swill, house or garden garbage, 
etc. Localized eczema may be caused by irritant substances applied 
to the skin — turpentine, ammonia, the essential oils, mustard, Span- 
ish-fly ointment, etc. Occasionally an eruption with vesiculation of 
the skin has been induced by the excessive use of mercurial prepara- 
tions for the destruction of lice. It is evident that eczema may arise 
from local irritation to the skin or from an autointoxication. Cattle, 
fed on the refuse from potato-starch factories develop a most obsti- 
nate and widespread eczema, beginning on the legs. 

Symptoms. — In accordance with the variety of symptoms during 
the progress of the disease we may divide it into different stages or 
periods: (1) Swelling and increased heat of the skin; the formation 
of vesicles, which are circumscribed, rounded elevations of the epider- 
mis, varying in size from a pinhead to a split pea, containing a clear, 
watery fluid; (2) exudation of a watery, glutinous fluid, formation 
of crusts, and sometimes suppuration, or the formation of vesicles 
containing pus (pustules); (3) scaling off (desquamation), with 
redness, and thickening of the skin. From the very beginning of 



324 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the disease the animal commences to rub the affected parts; hence 
the various stages may not always be easily recognized, as the rub- 
bing produces more or less abrasion, thus leaving the skin raw — ■ 
sometimes bleeding. Neither do these symptoms always occur in 
regular succession, for in some cases the exudation is most prominent, 
being very profuse, and serve to spread the disorder over a large 
surface. In other cases the formation of incrustations, or rawness 
of the skin, is the most striking feature. The disease may be limited 
to certain small areas, or it may be diffused over the greater part of 
the body ; the vesicles, or pustules, may be scattered in small clusters, 
or a large number run together. The chronic form is really only a 
prolongation of the disease, successive crops of pustules appearing 
on various portions of the body, frequently invading fresh sections 
of the skin, while the older surfaces form scabs, or crusts, upon the 
raw, indurated skin. 

In old, standing cases the skin breaks, forming fissures, espe- 
cially on portions of the body that bend — the neck and limbs. Thus 
the disease may be prolonged indefinitely. When eczema reaches its 
latest period, either acute or chronic, desquamation of the affected 
parts is the most prominent feature. The formation and shedding of 
these successive crops of scales constitute the character of the disease 
frequently denominated psoriasis. 

Treatment. — The treatment of eczema is often anything but a pleas- 
ant task. There is no one method of treatment which always proves 
successful, no matter how early it is begun or how small an area is 
involved. We must endeavor to remove the cause by giving atten- 
tion to the general health of the animal and to its environment. 
Feeding should be moderate in quantity and not too stimulating in 
character — green feed, bran mashes, ground oats, clean hay, plenty 
of salt. If the animal has been fed too high, give an active purga- 
tive — Epsom salt preferred — once a week, if necessary, and half an 
ounce of acetate or nitrate of potassium may be given in the feed twice 
a day. If the animal is in poor condition and debilitated, give a table- 
spoonful of the following mixture in feed twice a day : Powdered 
copperas, gentian, sulphur, and sassafras bark, equal parts by weight. 
If the animal is lousy, the parasite must be destroyed before the 
eczema can be cured. The external treatment must vary with the 
character of the lesions; no irritating application is to be made while 
the disease is in its acute vesicular, or pustular, stage, and, in the 
chronic stage, active stimulants must be used. Much washing is 
harmful, yet crusts and scales must be removed in order to obtain 
satisfactory results from the external applications. Both objects, 
however, can be attained by judiciously combining the curative 
agents with such substances as will at the same time cleanse the 
parts. 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 325 

In the vesicular stage, when the skin is feverish and the epidermis 
peeling off, thus exposing the exuding dermis, an application of 
boric-acid solution, 2 drams of the acid to 8 ounces of water, often 
relieves the smarting or itching, and also served to check the exuda- 
tion and dry the surface. If this fails to have the desired effect 
compound cresol, 1 ounce to 2 quarts of water, should be used as a 
wash. Either of these washes may be used several times a day until 
incrustation is well established. Then compound cresol, 1 ounce to 
2 quarts of sweet oil, or the benzoated oxid of zinc ointment, giving 
the affected surfaces a thorough application once a day, will be effi- 
cacious. When the eczema is not the result of an external irritant, 
it takes usually from one to two weeks to heal. 

In chronic eczema, when there is a succession of scabs, or scales, 
indolent sores or fissures, the white precipitate ointment, nitrate of 
mercury ointment, or blue ointment, mixed with equal parts of cos- 
moline or fresh lard, may be applied every second day, taking care to 
protect the parts so that the animal can not lick it off. 

In some cases the use of the following mixture will do well : Oil of 
tar one-half ounce, glycerin 1 ounce, alcohol 1 pint. This is to be 
rubbed in after cleansing the parts with warm water and soap. The 
internal administration of arsenic often }ields excellent results in 
chronic eczema. Dissolve 1 dram of arsenic and 1 dram of carbonate 
of potassium in 1 pint of boiling water, and give 1 ounce of this twice 
a day in water, after feeding. An alkali internally may be of service. 
As such, one may give 2 ounces of bicarbonate of soda twice daily. 
Sublimed sulphur may also be tried in ounce doses twice daily. 

PUSTULES (IMPETIGO). 

Impetigo is an inflammatory disease of the skin, characterized by 
the formation of distinct pustules, about the size of a pea or a bean, 
without itching. The pustules develop from the papular layer of 
the skin, and contain a yellowish- white pus. Afer reaching maturity 
they remain stationary for a few days, then they disappear by 
absorption and dry up into crusts, which later drop off, leaving 
upon the skin a red spot that soon disappears. Occasionally the 
crusts remain firmly adherent for a long time, or they may be raised 
and loosened by the formation of matter underneath. The dry 
crusts usually have a brown or black appearance. 

Causes. — Impetigo affects sucking calves, in which the disease 
appears upon the lips, nostrils, and face. It is attributed to some 
irritant substance contained in the mother's milk. Impetigo is also 
witnessed among grazing animals, regardless of age, and it especially 
attacks animals with white hair and skin. The mouth, face, and 
limbs become covered with pustules, which may rupture in a few 
hours, followed by rapid and successive incrustations; the scabs fre- 



326 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

quently coalesce, covering a large surface ; pus may form under them, 
and thus the whole thickness of the skin become involved in the 
morbid process. This form of the disease is attributed to the local 
irritant properties of such plants in the pasture as St. John's wort 
(Hypericum perforwfcuin) , smartweed (Polygonum hydropiper), 
vetches, honeydew, etc. Buckwheat, at the time the seeds become 
ripe, is said to have caused it; also bedding with buckwheat straw. 
Treatment. — Sucking calves should be removed from the mother, 
and a purgative given to the latter to divert the poisonous substance 
secreted with the milk. When the more formidable disease among 
grazing cattle appears, the pasturage should be changed and the 
affected parts of the animal thoroughly anointed once a day with 
sweet oil containing 2 drams of carbolic acid to the pint. This should 
be continued until the crusts soften and begin to drop off, then the 
parts may be cleansed thoroughly with warm water and soap. Sub- 
sequently the white precipitate ointment or carbolized cosmoline 
should be applied daily until the parts are healed. 

PEMPHIGUS (WATER BLISTERS). 

This is an inflammatory disease of the skin, characterized by suc- 
cessive formations of rounded, irregularly shaped water blisters, 
varying in size from a pea to a hen's egg. 

Causes. — Obscure. 

Symptoms. — The formation of a blister is preceded by a conges- 
tion or swelling of the skin. Yellowish-colored water collects be- 
neath the cuticle, which raises the latter from its bed in the form of 
a blister. The blisters appear in a succession of crops; as soon as 
one crop disappears another forms. They usually occur in clusters, 
each one being distinct, or they may coalesce. Each crop usually 
runs its course in a week. The disease is attended with itching or 
burning sensations which cause the animal to rub, thereby fre- 
quently producing excoriations and formation of crust on the 
affected region. 

Treatment. — Give a tablespoonful of the following-described mix- 
ture in feed twice a day: Saltpeter, cream of tartar, and sulphur, 
equal parts by weight. The blisters should be opened as soon as 
formed, to allow the escape of the serum, followed by a wash com- 
posed of chlorid of zinc, 1 dram to 15 ounces of water. When there 
is any formation of crusts, carbolized cosmoline should be applied. 

FURUNCULUS (BOILS). 

• This is an acute affection of the skin, usually involving its whole 
thickness, characterized by the formation of one or more abscesses, 
originating generally in a sebaceous gland, sweat gland, or hair 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 327 

follicle. They usually terminate by absorption, or by the formation 
of a central core, which sloughs out, leaving a deep, round cavity 
that soon heals. 

Causes. — Impoverished state of blood, the result of kidney dis- 
eases or of local friction or contusions. 

Symptoms. — Boils in cattle usually appear singly, not in clusters; 
they may attain the size of a hen's egg. The abscess begins as a 
small round nodule, painful on pressure, gradually increases in size 
until death of the central portion takes place, then the surface of the 
skin gives way to internal pressure and the core is released and ex- 
pelled. Constitutional symptoms are generally absent, unless the 
boils occur in considerable numbers, or by their size involve a great 
deal of tissue. 

Treatment. — Poulticing to ripen the abscess. If this can not be 
done, apply camphorated oil two or three times a day until the core 
is formed. As soon as the central or most prominent part becomes 
soft, the abscess should be opened to release the core. Then use car- 
bolized cosmoline once a day until the healing is completed. If the 
animal is in poor condition, give tonics — copperas, gentian, ginger, 
and sulphur, equal parts by weight, 1 tablespoonful twice a day. If 
the animal manifests a feverish condition of the system, give half an 
ounce of saltpeter twice a day, continuing it several days or a week. 

FAULTY SECRETIONS AND ABNORMAL GROWTHS OF THE SKIN. 

PITYRIASIS (SEBORRHEA. DANDRUFF, OR SCURF). 

This is a condition characterized by an excessive secretion of seba- 
ceouh matter, forming upon the skin in small crusts or scales. 

Causes. — It is ascribable to a functional derangement of the seba- 
ceous glands, usually accompanied with dryness and loss of pliancy 
of the skin. The animal is hidebound, as is commonly termed, thin 
in flesh, inclined to rub, and very frequently lousy. The condition is 
observed most often toward the spring of the year. Animals that 
are continually housed, and the skins of which receive no cleaning, 
generally present a coat filled with fine scales, composed of epi- 
thelium from the epidermis and dried sebaceous matter. This, how- 
ever, is a physiological condition and compatible with perfect health. 

Symptoms. — Pityriasis may affect the greater portion of the body, 
though usually only certain parts are affected — the ears, neck, rump, 
etc. The skin becomes scurfy, the hairy coat filled with branlike 
gray or whitish scales. 

Treatment. — Nutritious feed, such as oil-cake meal, bran, ground 
oats, and clean hay. In the spring the disease generally disappears 
after the animal is turned out to pasture. When lice are present they 
should be destroyed. 



328 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ELEPHANTIASIS (SCLERODERMA). 

This condition consists in a chronic thickening of the skin, which 
may effect one or more limbs or involve the whole integument. It is 
characterized by recurrent attacks of swelling of the skin and sub- 
cutaneous areolar tissue. After each attack the affected parts remain 
infiltrated to a larger extent than before, until finally the skin may 
attain a thickness of an inch, becoming wrinkled and fissured. In 
cattle this disease is confined to hot climates. The predisposing 
cause is unknown. 

EDEMA (ANASARCA OF THE SKIN). 

This is a dropsical condition of the skin and subcutaneous areolar 
tissue, characterized by pitting under pressure, the fingers leaving a 
dent which remains a short time. 

Causes. — Edema generally results from a weakened state of the sys- 
tem arising from previous disease. It may also be dependent upon 
a functional derangement of the kidneys, upon weak circulation, or 
obstruction to the flow of blood through the lungs. In debilitated 
animals and in some animals highly infested with parasites there is 
swelling of the dewlap or of the fold of the skin between the jaws. 

Symptoms. — Painless swelling of a limb, udder, lower surface of 
abdomen, or lower jaw becomes apparent. This may increase in 
dimensions for several days or may attain its maximum in less than 
24 hours. Unless complicated with some acute disease of a specific 
character, there is not much, if any, constitutional disturbance. The 
deep layer of the skin is infiltrated with serum, which gives it the 
characteristic condition of pitting under pressure. 

Treatment. — When the cause can be ascertained and removed we 
may expect to see the edema disappear. When no direct specific 
cause can be discovered and the animal is debilitated, give general 
tonic. If, on the contrary, it is in good flesh, give a purgative, fol- 
lowed by half an ounce of acetate of potassium twice a day. Ex- 
ternal applications are useless. 

Edema may be distinguished from erysipelas or anthrax by the 
absence of pain and fever. 

DERMOID AND SEBACEOUS CYSTS (WENS). 

A dermoid cyst is formed by an involution of the skin with a 
growth of hair on the inner wall of the sac. It may become embedded 
deeply in the subcutaneous tissues or may just penetrate the thickness 
of the skin, where it is movable -and painless. They are generally 
found within the ear or at its base, although they may form on any 
part of the body. Usually they have a small opening, from which a 
thick, cheesy matter can be squeezed out. The rational treatment is 
to dissect them out. 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 329 

Sebaceous cysts appear not unlike the former. They are formed 
by a dilatation of the hair follicle and sebaceous duct within the 
skin, and contain a gray or yellowish sebaceous mass. The tumor 
may attain the size of a cherry stone or a walnut. Generally they 
are round, movable, and painless, soft or doughy in consistency, and 
covered with skin and hair. They develop slowly. The best treat- 
ment is to dissect out the sac with contents entire. 

VERRUCA (WARTS). 

Cattle are affected with two varieties of warts. One, the verruca 
vulgaris, is composed of a cluster of enlarged papillae, covered with 
a thickened epidermisj the number of papillae determining the breadth 
and their length its height. They are generally circular in figure, 
slightly roughened on the surface, and spring from the skin by a 
broad base. Occasionally large numbers of very thin, long, peduncu- 
lated warts grow from the skin of the ear, lips, about the eyes, and 
vulva. Another variety, the verruca acuminata, sometimes errone- 
ously denominated epithelial cancers, are irregularly shaped eleva- 
tions, tufted or club shaped, occasionally existing as thick, short, 
fleshy excrescences, giving the growth the appearance of granulation 
tissue. Their color is red or purplish, and oftentimes by friction 
they become raw and bleeding, emitting then a very offensive odor. 
They usually grow in clusters and their development is rapid. 

Causes. — An abnormal nutrition of the skin, determined by in- 
creased energy of growth operating upon a healthy skin; at other 
times, upon a weak or impoverished skin. 

Treatment. — When they are small and pedunculated, they may be 
snipped off with shears and the stump touched with nitrate of silver. 
When they are broad and flattened, they may be dissected out and the 
wound cauterized if necessary. If they are large and very vascular, 
they may be ligated, one by one, by taking a strong cord and tying it 
as firmly around the base as possible. They will then shrivel, die, 
and drop off. If there is a tendency to grow again, apply a red-hot 
iron or nitric acid with a glass rod. Very often warts quickly dis- 
appear if they are kept soft by daily applications of sweet or 
olive oil. 

KELIS. 

Kelis is an irregularly shaped flat tumor of the skin, resulting 
from hypertrophy — increased growth of the fibrous tissue of the 
corium, producing absorption of the papillary layer. 

Causes. — It may arise spontaneously or follow a scar after an 
injury. 

Symptoms: — Kelis generally appears below the knee or hock, and 
may occur singly or in numbers. There are no constitutional symp- 



330 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

toms. Its growth is very slow and seldom causes any inconvenience. 
It appears as a flattened, irregular, or spreading growth within the 
substance of the skin, is hard to the touch, and is especially charac- 
terized by divergent branches or roots, resembling the claws of a 
crab ; hence the name. Occasionally some part of it may soften and 
result in an abscess. It may grow several inches in length and en- 
circle the whole limb. 

Treatment. — So long as it causes the animal no inconvenience it is 
best not to meddle with it ; when it does the animal ought to be fat- 
tened for beef, the meat being perfectly harmless to the consumer. 

PARASITIC DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 
RINGWORM (TINEA TONSURANS AND TINEA FAVOSA). 

Ringworm is an affection of the skin, caused by a vegetable para- 
site. 

The form known as tinea tonsurans is produced by the presence 
of a minute or microscopic fungus — the Trichophyton tonsurans, 
which affects the hair and the epidermic layer of the skin, and is 
highly contagious, being readily transmitted from one animal to 
another. This fungus consists of spores and filaments. The spores, 
being the most numerous, are round, nucleated, and seldom vary 
much in size. They are very abundant in the hair follicle. The fila- 
ments are articulated, waving, and contain granules. This disease is 
productive of changes in the root and shaft of the hair, rendering it 
brittle and easity broken off. 

This disease becomes manifest by the formation of circular patches 
on the skin, which soon becomes denuded of hair. The cuticular layer 
of the skin in slightly inflamed, and vesication with exudation 
occurs, followed by the formation of scaly, brittle crusts. The 
patches appear silvery gray when incrusted, and are mostly confined 
to the head and neck. It is a common disease among young cattle 
in the winter and spring. Very early in the development of the 
patches the hairs split, twist, and break off close to the skin. This 
disease is attended with more or less itching. It is communicable 
to man. 

Tinea favosa comes from another fungus, the Achorion schoriteinii. 
This enters the hair follicle and involves the cuticle surrounding it, 
small crusts form which increase in diameter and thickness and then 
become elevated at their margin, forming a cup-shaped scab, the 
favus cup, which gives the disease its distinctive character. The 
number of these cups varies from a few to many hundreds. The 
hairs involved become brittle and broken, fall off with the crusts, 
leaving small bald patches. The crusts are of a pale or sulphur- 
yellow color at first; as they grow older they turn darker, or to a 



DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 331 

brown color. This form of ringworm has a peculiar odor, resembling 
that of mice or musty straw. It is occasionally communicated to 
cattle by man, mice, cats, etc., all being subject to it. 

Treatment. — Remove all crusts by washing with soap and water, 
then apply acetic acid, sulphur ointment, tincture of iodin or nitrate 
of mercury ointment once a day. Cleanse the stable and whitewash 
it to destroy the spores scattered by the crusts. 

OTHER PARASITES AND PARASITIC DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

For discussion of mange, itch, scab, lousiness, warbles (grub in 
the skin), buffalo gnats, hornfly (Hcmnatobia serrata), ticks, flies, 
etc., see the chapter on " The animal parasites of cattle," page 510. 

WOUNDS OF THE SKIN. 

SNAKE BITES AND VENOMOUS STINGS. 

[See discussion of these subjects in chapter on " Poisons and poisoning."] 
BURNS AND SCALDS. 

This is a rare accident among cattle, yet in cases of fire it may 
occur. The application of heat, whether dry or moist, unless suffi- 
cient instantly to destroy the life of a part, is always followed by 
the development of vesicles or blisters, which contain a thin, watery 
fluid. The blisters may be isolated and not very large, or one blister 
may cover a very large surface. When the burn is very severe the 
skin may be wholly devitalized, or the injury may extend into the 
deeper structures of the skin. Then sloughs will occur, followed 
by a contraction of the parts in healing ; if on a limb, this may render 
the animal, stiff. When the burn or scald has been a severe one, the 
resulting pain is great and the constitutional disturbance very 
marked. 

Treatment. — For a superficial burn use a mixture of equal parts of 
limewater and linseed oil, or common white paint — white lead ground 
in oil — to exclude the atmosphere and protect the inflamed skin. 
If it is not convenient to get anything else, chimney soot, flour, or 
starch may be spread on the wound (dry), and covered with cotton 
batting and light bandage. The blisters should be opened to let the 
contained fluid escape, but do not pull off the thin cuticle which has 
been raised by the blister. When the burn is extensive and deep 
sloughing occurs, the parts should be treated, like other deep wounds, 
by poulticing, astringent washes, etc. When the system has sus- 
tained much shock, the animal may require internal stimulants, 
such as 4 ounces of whisky or 2 drams of carbonate of ammonia 
every hour until it rallies. When the pain is very great, hypo- 
dermic injections of 6 grains of morphia may be administered every 
six hours. 



332 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Frostbite on any portion of the body may be treated as recom- 
mended in the article on diseases of the ears. 

EMPHYSEMA (AIR OR GAS UNDER THE SKIN). 

Emphysema of the skin is not a true disease of the skin, but it is 
mentioned as a pathological condition. It is characterized by a 
distention of the skin with air or gas contained in the subcutaneous 
areolar tissue. It may depend upon a septic condition of the blood, 
as in anthrax or blackleg, or air may be forced under the skin abort 
the head, neck, and shoulders, as a result of rupture of the windpipe. 
It occurs in the region of the chest and shoulders from penetrating 
wounds of the chest and lung, and occasionally follows puncture of 
the rumen when the escaping gas is retained under the skin. 

Symptoms. — The skin is enormously distended over a greater or 
less portion of the body; thus any region of the body may lose its 
natural contour and appear like a monstrosity. There is a peculiar 
crackling beneath the skin when the hand is passed over it, and on 
tapping it with the fingers a resonant, drumlike sound is elicited. 

Treatment. — Puncture the distended skin with a clean, broad- 
bladed knife and press the air out. Further treatment must be 
directed with a view to the removal of the cause. 



DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 

By M. R. Trumbower, D. V. S. 
[Revised by Leonard Teai-son, B. S., V. M. D.] 

LAMINITIS (FOUNDER). 

Laminitis denotes an active inflammation of the sensitive struc- 
tures within the wall of the hoof, which in severe cases may result 
in suppuration and the loss of one or more claws. Owing to the sim- 
plicity of the structure of the foot of an ox compared with that of 
the horse, this disease is rarely seen in an acute form, but a mild 
form, commonly called " foot soreness," is not of infrequent occur- 
rence. 

Causes. — Laminitis in cattle may be caused by overfeeding, over- 
heating, continued standing without exercise on a stone or cement 
floor without sufficient bedding, or by driving long distances over 
rough or stony soil. 

/Symptoms, — An unwillingness to maintain the standing position; 
the animal persists in lying down. The feet will be found unnatu- 
rally hot, and frequently some swelling may be noticed above the 
hoof. Pressure upon the hoof with blacksmith's hoof pincers causes 
pain and flinching. The general body temperature is increased and 
the breathing accelerated. Ordinarily the animal eats and drinks 
as usual. "When it is made to move excessive tenderness of the feet 
becomes manifest, as is shown by reluctance to walk and by the very 
short, hesitating step. Founder affects the hind as well as the fore 
feet, although the front feet are more often exposed. 

Treatment. — Cold packs to the feet, or if the animal can be made 
to stand in a stream of water, having a soft bottom, the inflammation 
is often relieved without the necessity of any additional treatment. 
It may be well, however, to give a full dose of Epsom salt, 1 to \\ 
pounds, followed by half-ounce doses of saltpeter two or three times 
a day. 

SORENESS (FOOT SORENESS). 

Cattle that have been stabled or pastured on soft groimd and are 
driven over stony roads soon wear down the soles of their feet and 
become lame from foot soreness. Draft oxen, for this reason, require 
to be shod. When the soreness is excessive it may develop into an 
active inflammation of all the sensitive structures of the foot — 
laminitis, or into a local bruise commonly called a " corn." 

333 



334: DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Treatment. — Rest, poulticing the feet with moistened clay, fol- 
lowed by astringent washes — strong white-oak bark or alum water. 

If the pain and heat last several days, it is probable that pus has 
formed beneath the wall of the hoof. In this case it is necessary 
to cut through the wall, usually at the most prominent part of the 
sole, to allow the accumulation to drain out. The animal should 
then stand for several hours daily in a tub containing creolin 
solution (3 per cent). When not in the creolin solution the foot 
should be dressed with pine tar and cotton and bandaged with 
bagging. 

LOSS OF HOOF. 

Cattle sometimes become fastened between planks or otherwise 
and pull off the wall of one or both claws in the effort to extricate 
themselves. The claws of one or more feet may be shed as the result 
of acute laminitis. 

Treatment. — Wash the bleeding surface with an antiseptic and 
then with an astringent, such as a weak solution of alum, then apply a 
thick coating of pine tar; cover this with a layer of oakum or ab- 
sorbent cotton ; apply another coat of tar over this, and then bandage 
closely and firmly. This may remain without disturbance until the 
new growing wall becomes sufficiently strong to sustain the pressure 
and weight of the animal. If, however, at any time oozing or bad 
smell indicate that pus is forming under this dressing, the bandage 
should be removed and the suppurating surface freshly cleaned and 
dressed. This may have to be repeated every few days and should 
be continued so long as there is any pus formation. If the loss 
of hoof is owing to suppurative laminitis, the parts denuded of the 
horny covering must be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected with 
carbolic acid, lysol, or other antiseptic. Then apply a moderately 
thick layer of absorbent cotton and over this apply the tar and 
bandage. After this the antiseptic solution may be poured in daily 
at the top of the dressing. It will thus soak in and saturate the 
dressing and inflamed tissue. It may become necessary to remove 
all the dressing at daily or longer intervals to give the parts a fresh 
cleaning, and then to reapply it. 

FOUL IN FOOT (FOOT ROT). 

A variety of causes may produce inflammation of the foot between 
the claws or toes. It may be on account of overgrowth of the claws 
and inward pressure, as in ingrowing nail of man, or it may be 
caused by the irritation of stable filth by impaction and hardening of 
soil between the claws, or by other foreign substances becoming 
wedged in, causing inflammation and softening or ulceration of the 
skin in the interdigital space. Under some conditions several cattle 



DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 335 

in the same herd become affected, which has led some to think that 
the disease may be contagious. Occurrences have been reported in 
which foot rot of cattle has appeared within a short time among 
a large proportion of the cattle in a farming district. This disease 
is most frequently seen in the hind feet, though all four feet may 
become affected. 

/Symptoms. — The animal is observed to limp. On examination of 
the foot Ave discover heat and, swelling above the hoof and of the 
soft parts between the claws which frequently spreads the claws apart 
to a considerable extent, or the inflammation may have advanced to 
softening and sloughing of the interdigital membrane. If the disease 
is neglected at this stage, deep abscesses may form and the pus bur- 
row under the horny wall, or the joint within the hoof may become 
inflamed and the articular attachments destroyed, in which case the 
treatment will be difficult and recovery will be very tedious. 

Treatment. — In the earlier stages of the disease, before pus burrows 
beneath the horn, a thorough cleansing and an application of a car- 
bolic-acid solution — 1 ounce to a pint of water — clean stabling, and 
laxative food will usually remedy the evil. Cresol compound is an 
excellent reined}?- at this stage. It should be applied, in its pure or 
undiluted state, to the suppurating and putrefying tissue between 
the claws. It is best applied by means of a cotton swab on a thin 
stick. Care must be taken to keep it from contact with the skin 
about the coronary band or heels. If deep sloughing has taken place 
the carbolic solution should be used, and a wad of oakum or cot- 
ton smeared with pine tar should be secured firmly in the cleft. This 
can be done by taking a strip of strong cloth, 2 inches wide, passing 
the middle between the claws, then tying the ends after winding them 
in opposite directions above the hoof. Sometimes warm poulticing 
with flaxseed meal or bran is necessary to relieve excessive fever and 
pain. If the pus burrows under the horn, its channel must be fol- 
lowed by paring away the horn until the bottom is reached. The 
aftertreatment is the same as that already recommended. If the 
joint becomes diseased an amputation of that toe is the quickest and 
surest method to relieve the suffering of the animal, and offers the 
best chance for an early recovery. 

ULCERATION OF THE HEEL. 

Occasionally we find ulcers at the junction of the hair with the 
hoof at the heel, which present an elevated, raw, or ragged surface, 
and cause considerable lameness. This is generally caused by a bruise 
of the fibrous cushion of the back part of the foot. Subsequent 
sloughing or necrosis maj occur, or pus may form deep within the 
wall and gain an exit at the margin of the heel. Sometimes, from 
no visible cause, large pieces of skin slough from the heel and pastern. 



336 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

This condition is caused by an infection with certain microorganisms 
(streptococci, necrosis bacilli) and may be contagions. 

Treatment. — If there is a deep opening, inject carbolic solution once 
a day until it closes. If the ulcer is only superficial, wash with car- 
bolic solution and apply a mixture of equal parts of blue vitriol and 
alum in dry powder. 

FISSURE OF THE WALL (SPLIT HOOF). 

This is rarely seen among cattle. It may occur in weak walls, in 
heavily-bodied cattle, caused by stepping on an uneven surface, espe- 
cially when the point of the toe is grown out long. One may find the 
point of the toe broken and the wall split almost up to the hair. 

Treatment. — The divided sections may be brought into approxima- 
tion and held in place by drilling a small hole from one side into and 
through the other, commencing half an inch back of the fissure on 
each side; then drive a light horseshoe nail through the hole and 
clinch it. Pare the injured claw as short as it will bear. 

INTERDIGITAL FIBROMA. 

Hard, nodular, fibrous tumors sometimes grow in the cleft of the 
foot, and cause inconvenience, lameness, absorption, or ulceration of 
the contiguous parts. 

Treatment. — They should be dissected out and the wound dressed 
with carbolic-acid lotion and pine tar once a day until healing is 
completed. 

DEFORMITIES. 

Deformities in the feet of cattle usually consist in overgrowth of 
horn, generally from want of wear in animals which are stabled. 
The hoof may turn inward, outward, or upward, and may give rise to 
lameness, inability to walk, foul foot, etc. Bulls which are continu- 
ally stabled and dairy cows very frequently have misshapen feet from 
want of an occasional trimming, and this deformity may eventually 
lead to permanent injury. 

Treat?nent. — Cut the superabundant growth of horn down with 
saw, knife, or rasp, until the foot assumes its natural form. 

PRICKS AND WOUNDS. 

If an animal suffers with a penetrating wound from prick of fork 
or nail, the orifice of the wound should be enlarged to permit a free 
discharge of pus ; then the foot should be soaked in a cresol compound 
solution (3 per cent) in a tub, or a flaxseed poultice applied, changing 
it three times a day until the fever has abated. The foot should be 
kept bandaged and dressed with pine tar and oakum; the animal 



DISEASES OF THE FOOT. 337 

must also be kept on a clean floor until the wound is closed and all or 
nearly all lameness has disappeared. 

If an animal is cut in the foot with barbed wire, piece of glass, or 
any other substance, the wound, after proper cleansing, should be 
dressed with carbolic-acid solution, 1 ounce of the acid to 20 of 
water. If any uneven edges of horn, skin, or lacerated flesh project, 
trim them off, and in all cases when it can be done a tarred bandage 
should be applied. This will serve to sustain the cut surfaces in 
their place, exclude dirt, and protect against flies, maggots, etc. 

When the wound has extended into a joint, surgical treatment, 
which will require the services of an educated veterinarian, may 
be necessary. 

Occasionally an animal gets caught by the foot in a crevice and 
sustains severe bruising, wrenching, or fracture of some part of the 
foot. In such cases cold-water packs to the injured member are of 
service until the fever and swelling disappear. Afterwards the 
animal should rest until the usefulness of the foot is restored. Some- 
times such an accident, causing fracture, renders necessary plaster 
bandages or amputation. 
33071°— 16 22 



DISEASES OF THE EYE AND ITS APPENDAGES. 

By M. R. Tbumbowee, D. V. S. 
L Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.] 

DESCRIPTION. 

For the sake of gaining a clear comprehension of the diseases of 
the eye it becomes necessary to review the anatomy of this important 
organ. The essential organ of vision, or globe of the eye, will be first 
described, then its receptacle or orbital cavity, the muscles that move 
it, the protective membranes, or eyelids, the membrana nictitans, or 
accessory eyelids, and, lastty, the lachrymal apparatus. 

The globe or ball of the eye is almost spherical in form. On 
closer inspection, however, it appears to be made up of two com- 
bined portions from spheres of different sizes. The posterior portion, 
forming about five-sixths of the ball, is a sphere of comparatively 
large size with a small segment cut off it in front, and at this point 
there is applied to it the anterior portion, which, being a segment of 
a smaller sphere, projects at the front of the ball with a greater con- 
vexity than the posterior portion. 

The eyeball consists of concentrically arranged coats and of re- 
fracting media inclosed in them. The coats are three in number, 
namely, (1) an external protective tunic made up of the sclerotic 
and cornea ; (2) a middle vascular and pigmentary tunic, the choroid ; 
(3) an internal nervous layer, the retina. The sclerotic is the white, 
opaque part of the outer tunic, of which it forms about the posterior 
five-sixths, being coextensive with the larger sphere already men- 
tioned. The cornea forms the remaining one-sixth of the outer tunic, 
being coextensive with the segment of the smaller sphere. It is dis- 
tinguished from the sclerotic by being colorless and transparent. The 
choroid coat will be recognized as the black layer lying subjacent 
to the sclerotic. It does not line the cornea, but terminates behind 
the line of junction of that coat with the sclerotic by a thickened 
edge — the ciliary processes. At the line of junction of the sclerotic 
and cornea the iris passes across the interior of the eye. This (which 
may be viewed as a dependency of the choroid) is a muscular curtain 
perforated by an apeture termed the pupil. The retina will be 
recognized as a delicate, glassy layer, lining the greater part of the 
choroid. 
33S 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 339 

The refracting media of the eye are three in number, namely (1) 
the aqueous humor, a watery fluid inclosed in a chamber behind the 
cornea; (2) the crystalline lens and its capsule, a transparent, soft 
solid of a biconvex form, and placed behind the iris; (3) the vitreous 
humor, a transparent material with a consistence like thin jelly, and 
occupying as much of the interior of the eye as is subjacent to the 
choroid. 

The sclerotic is a "strong, opaque, fibrous membrane, which, in a 
great measure, maintains the form of the eyeball and protects the 
more delicate structures within it. Its interior portion, which is 
covered by the ocular conjunctiva, is commonly known as the " white 
of the eye." In form it is bell-shaped, and the optic nerve pierces it 
behind like a handle, the perforation being a little to its inner side. 
In front, the rim of the bell becomes continuous with the cornea. 
The outer surface of the membrane receives the insertion of the mus- 
cles of the eyeball. The coat is thickest over the posterior part of 
the eyeball, and is thinnest a little behind its junction with the 
cornea. 

The cornea is the anterior transparent portion of the outer coat of 
the eyeball. It may be viewed as a part of the sclerotic specially 
modified to permit the passage of light into the interior of the eye. 
Its outline is elliptical, nearly circular, and its greatest diameter is 
transverse. At its periphery it joins the sclerotic by continuity of 
tissue, and as the edge cf the cornea is slightly beveled and has the 
fibrous sclerotic carried for a little distance forward on its outward 
surface, the cornea is generally said to be fitted into the sclerotic like 
a watch glass into its rim. The venous canal of Schlemm runs cir- 
cularly around the eyeball at the line of junction of the sclerotic and 
cornea. The anterior surface of the cornea is exquisitely smooth, 
and is kept moist by the lacrimal secretions. Its posterior surface 
forms the anterior boundary of the chamber in which the aqueous 
humor is contained. The cornea is of uniform thickness and is of 
a dense, almost horny, consistence. Save a few capillary loops of 
blood vessels at its margin the cornea is without vessels. Its struct- 
ure is comprised of five distinct layers. 

The aqueous humor occupies a chamber which is bounded in front 
by the posterior surface of the cornea and behind by the capsule and 
suspensory ligament of the lens and by the ends of the ciliary proc- 
esses. It is across this chamber that the iris extends. The aqueous 
humor is composed of water, with a small proportion of common salt 
in solution. 

The iris is a muscular, pigmented curtain extending across the inte- 
rior of the eye and having about its center an aperture termed the 
pupil. By variations in the size of this aperture the amount of light 
transmitted to the retina is regulated. It varies somewhat in color. 



340 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

but is most frequently of a yellowish-brown tint. Its anterior face is 
bathed by the aqueous humor. The greater part of the posterior sur- 
face is in contact with the capsule of the lens and glides on it during 
the movements of the curtain. The circumferential border is at- 
tached within the junction of the sclerotic cornea. The inner border 
circumscribes the pupil, which varies in outline according to its size. 
When much contracted the pupil is a very elongated ellipse, the long 
axis of which is in the line joining the nasal and temporal angles of 
the eyelids. It contains muscular tissue, which, by contracting or 
relaxing, lessens or dilates the pupillary opening. 

The choroid coat is a bell-shaped, dark membrane which lines the 
sclerotic. Its outer surface has a shaggy appearance, caused by the 
tunica fusca, which unites the two coats. Between the two the ciliary 
vessels and nerves pass forward. Behind it is pierced by the optic 
nerve; in front it is continued as the ciliary processes, which form, 
as it were, the rim of the bell. The ciliary processes form a fringe 
around the slightly inverted rim of the choroid. 

The retina is the most delicate of the coats of the eyeball. It is 
formed by the expansion of the optic nerve on the inner surface of 
the choroid, and, like that coat, it is bell-shaped. Its inner surface 
is molded on the vitreous humor. The nervous structures of the 
retina terminate at a wavy line, the ora serrata, behind the ciliary 
processes. Ten distinct layers are described as composing the thick- 
ness of the retina. 

The lens is situated behind the pupil and is contained within a 
capsule of its own. 

The capsule is a close-fitting, firm, transparent membrane. The 
anterior surface forms the posterior boundary of the cavity contain- 
ing the aqueous humor, and the iris in its movement glides on it. 
The posterior surface is in contact with the vitreous humor. 

The vitreous humor occupies four-fifths of the interior of the eye- 
ball. It is globular in form, with a depression in front for the lodg- 
ment of the lens. It is colorless, transparent, and of a consistency 
like thin jelly. It is enveloped by a delicate capsule — the hyaloid 
membrane — which is connected in front with the suspensory ligament 
of the lens, and ends by joining the capsule behind the lens. 

The orbital cavity, at the side of the head, is circumscribed by a 
bony margin ; posteriorly, however, there are no bony walls, and the 
cavity is often confounded with the depression above and behind the 
orbit — the temporal fossa. A fibrous membrane completes this cavity 
and keeps it distinct from temporal fossa. This membrane — the 
ocular sheath or periorbita — is attached posteriorly around the open- 
ing in the back part of the orbital cavity (the orbital hiatus) and 
anteriorly to its inner face; then it becomes prolonged beyond the 



DISEASES OP THE EYE. 341 

margin to form the fibrous membrane of the eyelids. When complete 
the orbital cavity has the form of a regular hollow cone, open at 
its base and closed at the apex. The opening of this cone is directed 
forward, downward, and outward. Independently of the globe of 
the eye, this cavity lodges the muscles that move it, the membrana 
nictitans, and the lacrimal gland. 

The muscles of the eye are seven in number — one retractor, four 
straight, and two oblique. The retractor oculi envelops the optic 
nerve between the brain and the ball of the eye and becomes attached 
upon the external face of the sclerotic tunic. When this muscle con- 
tracts, it draws the globe back into the orbit, away from the light. 
The superior, inferior, external, and internal recti or straight muscles 
are attached to the back part of the orbital sheath and spread for- 
ward in four bundles over the globe of the eye, where they are in- 
serted by a fibrous expansion into the sclerotic at the margin of the 
cornea. When they act singly, they turn the globe either upward, 
downward, inward, or outward. The great oblique, by its action, 
pivots the eye inward and upward in the orbit. The small oblique 
turns the eye outward and downward. 

The eyelids are two movable curtains, superior and inferior, which 
cover and protect the eye in front. They are attached to the circum- 
ference of the orbit and have a convex external face formed by the 
skin and a concave internal face molded on the anterior surface of 
the eye and are lined by the conjunctiva, which is reflected above and 
below on the eyeball. The border of each lid is slightly beveled on 
the inner side and shows the openings of the Meibomian glands. 
These glands secrete an unctuous fluid, which is thrown out on the 
border of the lids, the function of which is to facilitate their move- 
ments and enable them to retain the tears in the ocular cavity. The 
eyelid is composed of a fibrous inner membrane ending in a stiff arch 
near the border, a muscle to close the lid, another to open it, the 
skin externally, and the conjunctival mucous membrane internally. 
The border of each lid is covered and protected by long hairs to pre- 
vent floating particles of matter in the atmosphere gaining entrance 
to the eye. 

The membrana nictitans, which is also named the third eyelid, 
winking eyelid, haw, etc., is placed at the inner angle of the eye, 
whence it extends over the eyeball to relieve it from foreign bodies 
which may fall upon it. It has for its framework a fibro-cartilage, 
irregular in shape, thick, nearly prismatic at its base, and thin 
anteriorly where it is covered by the conjunctiva ; behind, it is loosely 
attached to a fatty cushion. 

The lacrimal gland is situated between the orbital process and the 
upper part of the eyeball. It secretes the tears destined to lubricate 



342 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the anterior surface of the eye. This fluid escapes upon the organ 
at the outer angle of the lids and is carried between them and the 
eyeball toward the inner angle. 

The caruncula lacrimalis is a small round body, frequently entirely 
or partially black, situated in the inner angle of the eye, and is de- 
signed to direct the tears toward the puncta lacrimalia. 

The puncta lacrimalia are two little openings, situated one in each 
eyelid, a short distance from the inner corner, which admit the tears 
into the lacrimal ducts leading to the lacrimal canal, whence they are 
emptied into the nasal passages. 

CONJUNCTIVITIS (SIMPLE OPHTHALMIA). 

This is an inflammation of the conjunctival mucous membrane of 
the eyeball and lids ; in severe cases the deeper coats of the eye are 
involved, seriously complicating the attack. 

Causes. — It may result from a bruise of the eyelid ; from the intro- 
duction of foreign matters into the eye, as chaff, hayseed, dust, gnats, 
etc. ; from exposure to cold ; poisonous or irritating vapors arising 
from filthiness of stable. Dust, cinders, or sand blown into the eyes 
during transportation frequently cause conjunctivitis. 

Symptoms. — A profuse flow of tears, closure of the eyelids from 
intolerance of light, retraction of the eyeball and corresponding pro- 
trusion of the haw, disinclination to move, diminution of milk secre- 
tion, etc. On parting the lids the lining membrane is found injected 
with an excess of blood, giving it a red and swollen appearance ; the 
sclerotic, or white of the eye, is bloodshot and the cornea may be 
cloudy. If the disease advances, keratitis results, with its train of 
unfavorable symptoms. 

Treatment. — Careful examination should be made to discover par- 
ticles of chuff, etc., which may have lodged in the eye, and upon the 
discovery of such a cause prompt removal is indicated. This may 
be accomplished by flushing the eye with warm water by means of a 
syringe, or, if the foreign substance is adherent to the eyeball or lid, 
it may be scooped out with the handle of a teaspoon or some other 
blunt instrument. To relieve the congestion and local irritation, a 
wash composed of boracic acid in freshly boiled water, 20 grains to 
the ounce, or acetate of zinc, 5 grains to the ounce of pure soft 
water, may be used, to which may be added 20 drops of laudanum. 
A few drops of this should be placed in the eye with a camel's-hair 
pencil or soft feather three or four times daily. The animal should 
be placed in a cool, darkened stable; then a cloth folded into several 
thicknesses should be fastened to the horns in such manner as to 
reach below the eyes. This should be kept wet with cold water 
during the day and removed at night. If there is much fever and 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 343 

constitutional disturbance, it becomes advisable to administer 1 
pound of Epsom salt dissolved in 1 quart of water. 

INFECTIOUS CATARRHAL CONJUNCTIVITIS (SPECIFIC 
OPHTHALMIA). 

This generally appears in an enzootic or epizootic form and affects 
a considerable number in the herd. It is distinctly a contagious 
disease and may be brought into a previously healthy herd by one 
infected animal. It may continue in a herd for a season or for 
several years, affecting all newly purchased animals. It is seldom 
seen in the winter months. It affects old and young animals alike. 

Symptoms. — This form of catarrh conjunctivitis is characterized 
chiefly by a mucopurulent discharge from the eyes, an intense degree 
of inflammation of the mucous membrane, accompanied with swell- 
ing of the eyelids and an early opacity of the cornea. The flow of 
tears is mixed with pus, sometimes streaked with blood, and the skin 
of the face is kept moist and soiled. The eyes are kept continually 
closed. The implication of the cornea in the disease frequently 
blinds the animal for a time, and occasionally suppurative keratitis, 
ulcers of the cornea, or staphyloma supervene. The attack is marked 
from the onset by fever, partial loss of appetite, partial loss of milk, 
suspended rumination, and separation from the herd. 

Treatment. — The animal should be housed in a cool, dark stable, 
supplied with plenty of fresh water to drink and soft, succulent feed. 
Administer 1 pound of Epsom salt — if a very large animal, use 1| 
pounds — dissolved in 2 or 3 pints of water. For an eyewash, take 
boracic acid, 1 dram, and pour 4 ounces of boiling water over it. 
Use this as often as is convenient, applying it directly to the eye. In 
the majority of cases improvement becomes manifest in a few days, 
and the eye becomes clear and free from inflammation in 10 days 
or 2 weeks. Where the disease develops ulceration of the cornea, or 
well-marked, deep-seated keratitis, the treatment recommended for 
those conditions should be adopted. 

Prevention. — Whenever this affection appears in a herd all the 
unaffected animals should be moved to fields which possess a different 
character of soil and feed. The water should also be changed, espe- 
cially if they have been obtaining it from a stagnant pond. 

KERATITIS (CORNEITIS). 

This is an inflammation of the cornea proper, although the sclerotic 
at the corneal border becomes involved to some extent. It may be 
divided into diffuse and suppurative. 

Causes. — The cornea constitutes the most prominent portion of the 
eyeball, hence it is subject to a variety of injuries — scratches, pricks, 



344 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

contusions, lacerations, etc. Inflammation of the cornea may also be 
due to the extension of catarrhal conjunctivitis or intraocular dis- 
ease, and it may occasionally occur without any perceptible cause. 

Symptoms. — Diffuse keratitis is characterized by an exudation into 
and an opacity of the cornea. The swelling of the anterior part of 
the eyeball may be of an irregular form, in points resembling small 
bladders, or it may commence at the periphery of the cornea by an 
abrupt thickening, which gradually diminishes as it approaches the 
center. If the whole cornea is affected, it has a uniform gray or 
grayish-white appearance. The flow of tears is not so marked as in 
conjunctivitis, nor is the suffering so acute, though both conditions 
often exist together. Both eyes usually become affected, unless it is 
caused by an external injury. 

In favorable cases the exudate within the cornea begins to disap- 
pear within a week or 10 days, the eye becomes clearer and regains 
its transparency, until it eventually is fully restored. In unfavor- 
able cases blood vessels form and are seen to traverse the affected part 
from periphery to center, vision becomes entirely lost, and permanent 
opacity (albugo or leucoma) remains. When it arises from constitu- 
tional causes recurrence is frequent, leaving the corneal membrane 
more cloudy after each attack, until the sight is permanently lost. 

Suppurative keratitis may be a sequel of diffuse keratitis; more 
commonly, however, it abruptly becomes manifest by a raised swell- 
ing on or near the center of the cornea that very soon assumes a yel- 
low, turbid color, while the periphery of the swelling fades into an 
opaque ring. Suppurative keratitis is seldom noticed for the first 
day or two — not until distinct pus formation has occurred. When 
it is the result of diffuse keratitis, ulceration and the escape of the 
contained pus is inevitable; otherwise the pus may be absorbed. 
When the deeper membranes covering the anterior chamber of the eye 
become involved, the contents of this chamber may be evacuated and 
the sight permanently lost. 

Treatment. — Place the animal in a darkened stable, give green or 
sloppy feed, and administer 4 ounces of Glauber's salt (sulphate of 
soda) dissolved in a quart of water once a day. If the animal is 
debilitated a tablespoonful of tonic powder should be mixed with the 
feed three times a day. This may be composed of equal parts by 
weight of powdered copperas (sulphate of iron), gentian, and ginger. 
As an application for the eye, nitrate of silver, 3 grains to the ounce 
of soft water, with the addition of 1 grain sulphate of morphia, may 
be used several times a day. If ulceration occurs, it is well to dust 
powdered calomel into the eye twice daily, or apply to the eyelids a 
salve of yellow oxid of mercury, 5 per cent in lanolin. Some of 
this may go on to the cornea and beneath the lids. Apply twice daily. 
(See "Ulcers of the cornea.") 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 345 

To remove opacity, after the inflammation has subsided, apply a 
few drops of the following solution twice a day: Iodic! of potas- 
sium, 15 grains; tincture sanguinaria, 20 drops; distilled water, 2 
ounces; mix. 

Sometimes keratitis exists in a herd as a transmissible disease, 
spreading like infectious conjunctivitis. Calomel, applied to the eye, 
is especially useful in such cases. 

ULCERS OF THE CORNEA. 

An ulcer comes from erosion or is the consequence of the bursting 
of a small abscess, which may have formed beneath the delicate layer 
of the conjunctiva, continued over the cornea; or, in the very sub- 
stance of the cornea itself, after violent keratitis, or catarrhal con- 
junctivitis. At other times it is produced by bruises, scratches, or 
other direct injury of the cornea. 

Symptoms. — The ulcer is generally at first of a pale gray color, 
with its edges high and irregular, discharges instead of pus an acrid, 
watery substance, and has a tendency to spread widely and deeply. 
If it spreads superficially upon the cornea, the transparency of this 
membrane is lost; if it proceeds deeply and penetrates the anterior 
chamber of the aqueous humor, this fluid escapes, the iris may pro- 
lapse, and the lens and the vitreous humor become expelled, thus 
producing destruction of the whole organ. 

Treatment. — It is of the greatest importance, as soon as an ulcer 
appears upon the cornea, to prevent its growing larger. The corrod- 
ing process must be converted into a healthy one. For this purpose 
nothing is more reliable than the use of solid nitrate of silver. A 
stick of this medicine should be scraped to a point; the animal's 
head should be firmly secured; an assistant should part the lids; if 
necessary, the haw must be secured within the corner of the eye and 
then all parts of the ulcer should be lightly touched with the silver. 
After waiting a few minutes the eye should be thoroughly washed 
out with a very weak solution of common salt. This operation gen- 
erally has to be repeated at the end of three or four days. If healthy 
action succeeds, the ulcer assumes a delicate fleshy tint, and the 
former redness around the ulcer disappears in proportion as the ulcer 
heals. 

In superficial abrasions of the cornea, where there is no distinct 
excavation, this caustic treatment is not needed. The eye should be 
bathed several times a day with sulphate of zinc, 30 grains to half a 
pint of soft water, and protected against exposure to cold air and 
sunlight. Excessive ulceration sometimes assumes the form of fun- 
gous excrescence upon the cornea, appearing to derive its nourish- 
ment from loops of blood vessels of the conjunctiva. Under these 



346 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

circumstances the fungoid mass must be cut away and the wound 
cauterized with the nitrate of silver, or else the eye will soon be 
destroyed. When ulcers of the cornea appear indolent, with a tend- 
ency to slough, in addition to the treatment already prescribed, tonic 
powders of copperas, gentian, and ginger, equal parts by weight, 
should be given twice a day, mixed with the feed; dose, one table- 
spoonful. 

STAPHYLOMA. 

This is a disease of the eyeball, in which the cornea loses its trans- 
parency, rises above the level of the eye, and even projects beyond the 
eyelids in the form of an elongated, whitish, or pearl-colored tumor, 
which is sometimes smooth, at other times uneven. 

Causes. — Inflammation is the only known cause, although it may 
not occur immediately; it frequently follows catarrhal conjunctivitis 
and keratitis as a sequela. 

Treatment. — In a few cases restoration of sight may be effected by 
puncturing the projecting tumor and treating it afterwards with 
nitrate of silver in the same manner as prescribed for ulceration of 
the cornea. In some cases spontaneous rupture has occurred, and 
healing without any treatment at all. 

CATARACT. 

In cataract the crystalline lens becomes opaque and loses its trans- 
parency, the power of refraction is lost — the animal can not see. 

Causes. — Cataract generally arises from a diminution (atrophy) 
or other change in the nutrition of the lens ; it may occur as a result 
of inflammation of the deep structures of the eye. Cataract may be 
simple, or complicated with amaurosis, adhesions, etc. 

Symptoms. — It is known by the whiteness or loss of transparency 
of the lens, although the pupil dilates and contracts. Sight may be 
totally lost; however, evidence is usually manifested that the animal 
distinguishes light when brought out of a darkened stable. For the 
most part the formation of cataract takes place slowly, the cases in 
which it originates very quickly being but few. 

Treatment. — There is only one method for the treatment of cata- 
ract — a surgical operation for the removal of the lens; but this is not 
advisable, for the sight can not be perfectly restored, and objects 
would be seen imperfectly without the aid of glasses. 

AMAUROSIS. 

This is- a paralysis of the nerve of sight or the expansion of the 
retina. 

Causes. — This is the result of concussion from a blow upon the 
forehead, fracture of bone over the eye (causing downward pressure), 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 347 

rheumatic inflammation of the optic nerve, or from extension of deep 
inflammation of the eye involving the retina. It sometimes occurs 
as the result of excessive loss of blood or of great debility. 

Symptoms. — In this disease observation is seldom made until the 
animal in its gait and by its action indicates blindness. Generally 
both eyes are affected. The eyeball remains clear, and the pupil is 
permanently dilated. No response to light is manifested. 

Treatment. — If caused by debility, loss of blood, or associated with 
rheumatism, general blood tonics may be given in the feed, namely, 
powdered sulphate of iron, 1 dram; gentian, 2 drams; mix vomica, 
one-half dram; to be given twice a day. In cases of rheumatism, 
one-half ounce of saltpeter may be added. 

FILARIA OCULI (WORM IN THE EYE). 

FUaaria oculi (provisionally taken as the larva of F. cervina) is a 
small white worm, found swimming in the aqueous fluid in the ante- 
rior chamber. It may be apparently harmless for a long time, but 
will eventually induce keratitis with inflammatory exudations. 

Treatment. — The cornea may be punctured at its upper and outer 
margin, and the worm squeezed out with the aqueous humor. The 
latter will be formed again. This operation results disastrously 
unless the greatest care and skill are employed. 

CORNEAL DERMATOMA (HAIRY TUMOR ON THE EYEBALL). 

In a few instances this has been seen as a congenital growth. The 
tumor arises from the cornea or the sclerotic, covered by its respective 
membrane, with a growth of hair upon its surface. These tumors 
may be quite prominent or flattened, and are dark in color; the hair 
may protrude between the eyelids, giving the animal the appearance 
of having a double eyelid. 

Treatment. — A surgical operation becomes necessary for their re- 
moval — one requiring a skilled operator. 

STRABISMUS (SQUINTING). 

This is a very rare affection among cattle. Strabismus may be 
either single or double — affecting one eye or both. It is caused by a 
paralysis, or a weakening of one of the straight muscles of the eye- 
ball. Generally it is a congenital defect, and the squinting is toward 
the nose — strabismus convergens. It is best not to attempt to remedy 
the defect, as the risk in an operation is greater than the chances of 
success warrant. 

PTERYGIUM. 

This term is applied to a flesh-colored membrane, triangular in 
form, which most frequently grows from the inner angle of the eye 



348 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

and extends over the cornea, thus interfering with vision. It may 
grow from the outer angle, or even from either the superior or in- 
ferior hemisphere of the eyeball. The figure is invariably that of a 
triangle, with its base on the white of the eye and its apex more or 
less advanced over the cornea toward its center. 

The distinguishing characteristics are the constancy of the tri- 
angular form, and the facility with which the whole of it may be 
taken hold of with a pair of forceps and raised into a fold on the 
cornea. Every other kind of excrescence attached to this membrane 
continues firmly adherent to it, and can not be folded and raised from 
the surface of the cornea in any manner whatever. 

Treatment. — Raise the fold and dissect it away from all points of 
attachment. 

TRICHIASIS (INVERSION OF THE EYELASHES). 

In the simplest form the eyelashes bend inwardly, touching the 
eyeball, causing irritation and simple conjunctivitis. It may be also 
associated with entropion. 

Treatment. — The offending eyelashes should be cut off or pulled 
out. In case the natural growth of the eyelashes is directed inward, 
an operation similar to that for entropion becomes necessary. 

ENTROPION (INVERSION OF THE EYELID). 

In inversion of the eyelid the eyelashes soon irritate the anterior 
face of the cornea and produce more or less inflammation and opacity. 
The inversion may be due to the growth of a tumor within or with- 
out the lid, "to abscess, laceration, or injury, causing the lid to lose its 
natural conformity to the eyeball, ulcerations, etc. Surgical inter- 
ference in either case becomes necessary to restore the lid to its 
natural direction. 

ECTROPION (EVERSION OF THE EYELID). 

This serves to injure the eye by permitting dust or other foreign 
substances to enter the eye and interferes with the natural removal 
of them. 

Treatment. — A delicate surgical operation — the removal of an 
elliptic section of the palpebral conjunctiva — may remedy the defect. 

TUMORS OF THE EYELIDS. 

Occasionally tumors form upon or within the substance of the eye- 
lid. They may be of a fibroid nature and arise from the follicles 
of the hair as sebaceous tumors or may be in the form of an abscess. 
In debilitating diseases the lids sometimes become swollen and puffy, 
a condition which may possibly be taken for the growth of a tumor. 
This generally disappears with the improvement of the health of the 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 349 

animal. Warts not uncommonly appear on or about the eyelids of 
cattle. 

Treatment. — The removal of a tumor in the vicinity of so delicate 
an organ as the eye should not be attempted by anyone not qualified 
to perform the operation. 

LACERATION OF THE EYELID. 

This accident is not uncommon where cattle are fenced in by 
barbed wire ; an animal may be caught under the eyelid by the horn 
of another, or the laceration may occur in the stable by means of a 
projecting nail or splinter of wood. 

Treatment. — The edges of the wound should be brought together 
closely and correctly, by means of pins pushed through very nearly 
the whole thickness of the lid, extending through each lip of the 
torn part ; then a waxed silk or linen thread must be wound over 
each end of the pin, crossing the torn line in the form of the figure 
8 (PL XXVII, fig. 9) ; the pins should be placed about three-eighths 
of an inch apart. The projecting ends of the pins should be cut 
off close to the ligature, and the parts kept anointed with vaseline, 
to which 2 per cent of compound cresol has been added. In place 
of a pin suture, silver wire, catgut, or strong linen thread may be 
used in the way of an ordinary suture. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYE. 

Splinters of wood, hedge thorns, pieces of cornstalk or leaves, stems 
of hay or straw, twigs of trees, or weeds may penetrate into the eye, 
break off, and remain, causing inflammation, blindness, abscess, etc. 
These substances may penetrate the eyeball, but more frequently 
they glide off and enter between the eye and the ocular sheath. 

Treatment. — Their removal becomes often a very difficult task, 
from the fact that the organ is so extremely sensitive, and the re- 
tracting power so strong as to necessitate casting the animal, or even 
the administration of sufficient chloroform to render it completely 
insensible. The removal, however, is of paramount importance, 
and the after treatment depends upon the extent and location of the 
injury — cold water compress over the injured eye, the application of 
mild astringent and cooling washes, such as acetate or sulphate of 
zinc, 5 grains to the ounce of water. "When there is extreme suffer- 
ing from pain a solution of atropia or morphia, 5 grains to the 
ounce of water, may be dropped into the eye, alternating with the 
Cooling wash several times a day. When abscesses form within 
the orbit a free opening must be maintained for the discharge of pus. 
In deep penetrating wounds of the eye there is a great tendency 
to the formation of a fungous growth, which often necessitates the 
enucleation of the whole eyeball. 



350 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ORBITAL AND PERIORBITAL ABSCESS. 

Orbital abscess may form outside the globe and within the orbital 
sheath, as the result of a previous wound of the parts or from 
fracture of the bony- orbit, etc. Periorbital abscess commences out- 
side the ocular sheath, beneath the periosteal membrane covering 
the bone, and is usually the result of a disease or fractured bone 
which enters into the formation of the orbital cavity. 

Symptoms. — Orbital abscess is manifested by a pushing forward 
of the eyeball (exophthalmos), a swelling of the conjunctiva and 
eyelids. The bulging out of the eye is in proportion to the size of 
the abscess; the movement of the eye is fixed, due to the painf ill- 
ness of any voluntary movement of the eyeball. Periorbital abscess 
generally pushes the eye to one side; otherwise the symptoms are 
similar to the foregoing. The pain generally is very great ; paralysis 
of the nerve of sight may occur, and death may be caused by the 
abscess extending to the brain. 

Treatment. — The treatment for either orbital or periorbital abscess 
is the same as that for abscess occurring in any other part of the 
body — a free opening for the escape of imprisoned pus. This should 
be made as soon as the true nature of the disease is recognized. 
Afterwards antiseptic injections may be needed to stimulate healthy 
granulation and to prevent septic infection of the ocular membranes. 
For this purpose a saturated solution of boric acid or listerine 1 part 
to 10 of water may be used. When the fever runs high, Glauber's 
salt (sulphate of soda) may be given in 4-ounce doses once a day. 
The animal should be kept in a darkened stable, on soft or green feed. 

FRACTURE OF THE ORBIT. 

This accident occasionally occurs among belligerent animals, or as 
the result of blows delivered by brutal attendants. The orbital proc- 
ess above the eye may be entirely crushed in, pressing down upon the 
eyeball. In such an event the depressed bone should be elevated into 
its proper place, and if it fails to unite it ma}^ have to be removed 
with saw or chisel. The margin of the orbit may be crushed at any 
point and cause periorbital abscess, or necrosis may result from the 
presence of a splinter of bone or the excessive destruction of bone. 
In all cases of fracture the animal should be kept by itself until the 
injured part heals. 

NECROSIS OF THE BONY ORBIT. 

As the result of fracture of the margin of the orbit a part of the 
injured bone may become necrosed (dead), and periostitis and perior- 
bital abscess will follow as a consequence. The discovery of this dis- 
ease will at first resemble abscess, but on making an examination with 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 351 

a probe after the abscess is open we find the bone rough and brittle 
at the point of disease. The discharge has a peculiar fetid odor, 
and is often mixed with blood. 

Treatment. — The affected bone must be laid bare and all diseased 
portions removed by scraping or, if necessary, with saw or chisel, 
disregarding the extent of the injury or the size of the wound neces- 
sary to be inflicted. A large portion of the bony orbit may be re- 
moved without serious danger to the eye, provided the eyeball itself 
has not been previously affected by the disease or involved in the 
original injury. 

TUMORS OF THE ORBIT. 

A fungous tumor of the eyeball or orbit occasionally appears, which 
is designated fungus haematodes. This may arise without any appre- 
ciable cause, or as the result of a wound. It frequently commences 
within the eyeball as a small, red mass, eventually bursts through, 
and pushes its way outside the orbit as a large, dark-red mass, bleed- 
ing at the slightest touch. It has a peculiar, fetid odor, and early in 
its appearance destroys sight, involving all the contents of the orbit, 
not infrequently the bony wall itself. 

Unless the tumor is totally removed in its early stage of growth, 
together with the eyeball, the disease will eventually cause emaciation 
and death of the animal. The enucleation of the eyeball should not be 
undertaken by anyone unacquainted with the anatomical structures 
involved in such an operation. When the operation is performed 
early enough the result is generally satisfactory. 

Bony tumors of the orbit, the result of bruises, fractures, etc., are 
occasionally present in cattle. They may encroach upon the contents 
of the orbit, causing paralysis of the optic nerve — the condition 
known as amaurosis — or by pressure upon the posterior surface of the 
eyeball force it forward, or produce atrophy (shrinking). They may 
displace the eye in any direction, with or without disturbing vision. 

Fibrous tumors growing within the orbit will produce symptoms 
similar to those of bony tumors. 

Treatment. — When the outlines of the tumor, whether fungoid, 
bony, or fibrous, can be detected, an operation for its removal should 
be undertaken as soon as the sight of the eye is in any manner dis- 
turbed. 

DISLOCATION OF THE EYEBALL. 

The eyeball may be torn out of its socket by the horns of another 
animal, or it may be crowded out with the blunt end of a club, cane, 
or probe in the hands of a brutal attendant. 

Treatment. — When the optic nerve is not lacerated and the retrac- 
tor muscles at the back of the eye are intact, an attempt at reduction 



352 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

is advisable. This, however, must follow very soon after the in- 
jury — before swelling takes place. Divide the outer corner of the 
eyelid to enlarge the orifice, then by pressure with the fingers of both 
hands placed upon the sides of the eye the ball may be put into its 
place. Apply a firm compress over the injured eye and keep it 
constantly wet with cold water containing 1 dram of sugar of lead to 
each quart. 

If the attempt at reduction proves unsuccessful the artery at the 
back of the eye should be ligated, and then the whole mass cut off as 
deep within the orbit as possible. The orbital cavity, after washing 
it out with a 3 per cent solution of carbolic acid or compound cresol, 
should be packed daily with fresh absorbent cotton. 

INFLAMMATION AND ENLARGEMENT OF THE HAW. 

The haw, or membrana nictitans, is subject to inflammation and 
swelling from the extension of conjunctivitis, or direct injury by for- 
eign substances. It presents a red, swollen appearance, accompanied 
with considerable pain and a profuse flow of tears. A slight scari- 
fication with a sharp knife and the application of a cooling lotion, 
such as is recommended for conjunctivitis, will soon reduce the swell- 
ing and restore it to its normal function. 

There is, however, a tendency for an inflammation of this mem- 
brane to take on a chronic character, which may eventually result in 
a permanent enlargement, resembling a tumor. When it attains 
sufficient size to protrude itself permanently over the eye, or project 
between the lids so as to obstruct the sight, its removal may become 
necessary. A threaded needle is passed through the body of the en- 
larged mass, by which the membrane is drawn out as far as possible, 
then with a blunt pair of scissors it may be dissected away from its 
attachments. The eye is afterwards treated with simple cooling 
lotions. 



DISEASES OF THE EAR. 

By M. R. Trumbower, D. V. S. 
[Revised by Leonard Pearson, B. S., V. M. D.] 

Diseases of the ears of cattle are not very common, for the reasons 
probably that they are not subjected to the brutality of drivers so 
much as horses and that the horns to a great extent protect them 
against external violence. 

OTITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE INTERNAL EAR). 

Inflammation of the deep part of the ear is often difficult to recog- 
nize in cattle. It may be caused by disease of bone in that region, 
from blows inflicted by drivers, or from injury by other cattle. 
Occasionally the ear becomes involved in actinomycosis (lumpy jaw), 
or the inflammation may be the result of a tuberculous affection. 

Symptoms. — The animal will hold its head to one side, or shake it, 
while the ear itself is held immovable. The movement of the jaws in 
eating usually gives rise to a manifestation of pain ; the base of the 
ear may be feverish and swollen, and very sensitive to the touch. If 
the inflammation has advanced to a suppurative stage, offensive mat- 
ter will flow from the ear. 

Treatment. — At first, hot fomentations to reduce pain and fever, 
followed by a sharp blister below the ear. Laudanum, 1 part to 10 
of sweet oil, may be injected into the ear to relieve pain and to 
soften the secretions. If there is a discharge from the ear, it should 
be thoroughly washed out by injecting warm soapsuds until all the 
matter has been washed away; then inject the following mixture 
twice a day: Sulphate of morphia, 20 grains; water, 1 pint; glycerin, 
4 ounces. 

ABSCESS. 

Abscesses, caused by contusions, sometimes form about the base of 
the ear, either inside or outside. A serous cyst is found occasionally 
between the cartilage and the skin on the base of the ear, which may 
be from a similar cause. 

Treatment.— With the knife make a free incision into the most 
prominent part of the abscess or cyst, then, with a syringe, wash out 
the sac with carbolized water. If the abscess recurs, open it again, 
wash it out, and inject tincture of iodin, or fill it with iodoform. 

FUNGOID GROWTHS. 

As a result of laceration or wound of any kind, fungous growths, 
characterized by a raw, bleeding, granulating surface, with a tend- 
ency to become pendulous, may develop on the ear. 

33071°— 16 23 353 



354 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Treatment. — The whole tumor or diseased structure should be cut 
away, and the wound treated daily with a dressing of carbolized 
cosmoline or turpentine and sweet oil, 1 part of the former to 4 of 
the latter. 

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EAR. 

Bugs have been known to gain entrance into the ears of animals. 
I once removed an acorn from the ear of a cow that had been roam- 
ing in the woods; also pieces of wood from a stanchion may be 
lodged accidentally in the ear. 

Symptoms. — There is usually a continuous uneasiness or frequent 
shaking of the head, occasionally the manifestation of exceeding 
great pain. The animal may rub the head and ear against trees or 
other objects in an endeavor to dislodge the offending body. 

Treatment. — A careful examination reveals the cause, which may 
be removed with a pair of forceps or scraped out with a hairpin or 
piece of wire bent at one end. If much inflammation exists, the ear 
may be swollen so that the foreign substance is hidden from sight; 
then a probe may be inserted to feel for the object, which, when 
found, should be removed, even if it becomes necessary to split the 
ear at the base. Afterwards treat the ear with frequent warm water 
fomentations and the injection of soapy water or oil and water. 

SCURFY EARS. 

Cattle are subject to scurfy ears, which may be owing to a generally 
morbid condition of the skin, or may be confined to the ears alone. 
The affected animal shows an inclination to rub the ear ; thick scales, 
which sometimes have the appearance of hard, dry, horny scales, 
of scurf collect on it. This condition is chiefly caused by a faulty 
secretion of the sebaceous glands of the ear. Thoroughly clean the 
ear with a stiff brush, then anoint it, so far as affected, with vaseline 
4 parts to 1 part of white precipitate ointment. If the scurfy ears 
are only a part of a general scurfiness of the skin, the condition of 
the animal needs attention. (See "Pityriasis," p. 327.) 

FROSTBITE. 

It is not uncommon among young cattle which are poorly nour- 
ished and exposed outdoors to storms and extreme cold to suffer 
frostbite of the ear, which may constitute actual freezing of the 
part. 

Symptoms. — Frostbite presents naturally every degree of severity 
from the mere chilling of the tip of the ear to positive freezing and 
death of a portion. In a day or two after the freezing has occurred 
the ear becomes swollen and very painful ; the dead part remains 
cold and begins to shrivel ; a line of separation then forms between 



DISEASES OF THE EAR. 355 

the inflamed and the dead or dying portion, and finally the piece 
destroyed drops off, leaving a raw healing surface. When the ear 
is only slightly affected by the cold, an excoriation or peeling off of 
superficial skin takes place, accompanied with some pain and itching. 
Treatment. — A good liniment for frozen ears is a mixture of tur- 
pentine, ammonia, and chloroform, of each 1 part, added to 6 parts 
of sweet oil. Rub this on the ear several times a day. It will relieve 
pain and stimulate the circulation, thus favoring a recovery of the 
injured structures. 

LACERATIONS OF THE EAR. 

Aggressive dogs are the most frequent cause of lacerated ear, gen- 
erally leaving a torn, ragged edge and bruised cartilage. 

If the wound is extensive, a trimming of the ragged edges becomes 
necessary; then the edges should be fastened together with silver 
wire, catgut, or strong, thick, linen thread, taking a deep hold, and 
pine tar applied. 

DISEASE OF THE CARTILAGE AND NECROSIS. 

Occasionally the cartilages of the ear become affected, usually the 
result of a deep bruise ; pus forms, burrows under the skin, and may 
find a discharge from any part of the ear more or less distant from 
the seat of the disease. When the cartilage has been extensively 
injured, pieces of it may become dead (necrosed) and dissolve, to be 
carried away with the pus, or it may lead to extensive sloughing and 
the formation of numerous running sores. In the disease of the car- 
tilage there is seldom much swelling or great pain. The discharge is 
usually very offensive, and occasionally streaked with blood. When- 
ever there is a long-continued, persistent discharge from one or more 
openings in the ear, disease of the cartilage may be suspected. 

Treatment. — The sinus formed by the passage of matter should be 
probed and searched to the bottom for the presence of a foreign sub- 
stance or the evidence of decaying cartilage. When the probe touches 
necrosed cartilage it will feel like a piece of dry leather or partially 
softened wood. A counter opening must then be made at this place, 
and all diseased cartilage cut away with the knife. The subsequent 
treatment consists in keeping the artificial wound open for the dis- 
charge of pus, and the injection of chlorid of zinc, 5 grains to the 
ounce of water, once or twice a day, until the wound is healed. 

ENCHONDROMA OF THE EAR. 

This is an excessive growth of cartilage, found at the base of the 
ear in the form of a hard, painless tumor, firmly attached to the 
movable ear. The only recourse for its removal is the knife in the 
hands of one acquainted with the anatomy of the part involved in 
the operation. 



INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Revised by John R. Mohler, A. M:, V. M. D., 
Assistant Chief, Bureau of Animal Industry. 

GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 

The importance, to the farmer and stock raiser, of a general knowl- 
edge of the nature of infectious diseases need not be insisted on, as 
it must be evident to all who have charge of farm animals. The 
growing facilities for intercourse between one section of a country 
and another, and between different countries, cause a wide distribu- 
tion of the infectious diseases once restricted to a definite locality. 
Not only the animals themselves, but the cars, vessels, or other con- 
veyances in which they are carried may become agents for the dis- 
semination of disease. The growing tendency of specialization in 
agriculture, which leads to the maintenance of large herds of cattle, 
sheep, and hogs, makes infectious diseases more common and more 
dangerous. Fresh animals are being continually introduced which 
may be the carriers of disease from other herds, and when disease is 
once brought into a large herd the losses become very high, because 
it is difficult, if not impossible, to check it after it has once obtained 
a foothold. 

These considerations make it plain that only by the most careful 
supervision by intelligent men who understand the nature of infec- 
tious diseases and their causes in a general way can these be kept 
away. We must likewise consider how incomplete our knowledge 
concerning many diseases is, and probably will be for some time to 
come. The suggestions and recommendations offered by investi- 
gators, therefore, may not always be correct, and may require fre- 
quent modification as our information grows more comprehensive 
and exact. 

An infectious disease may be defined as anj T malady caused by the 
introduction, into the body, of minute organisms of a vegetable or 
animal nature which have the power of indefinite multiplication and 
of setting free certain peculiar poisons which are chiefly responsible 
for the morbid changes. 

This definition might include diseases caused by certain animal 
parasites, such as trichina?, for example, which multiply in the diges- 
tive tract, but whose progeny is limited to a single generation. By 
common consent the term " infectious " is restricted to those diseases 
356 



DISCUSSION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 357 

caused by the invasion and multiplication of certain very minute 
unicellular organisms included under the general classes of bacteria 
and protozoa. Nearly all the diseases of cattle for which a definite 
cause has been traced are from bacteria. Among these are tubercu- 
losis, anthrax, blackleg, and tetanus (or lockjaw). Some diseases, 
such as Texas fever and nagana, are traceable to protozoa, while 
others, like actinomycosis and aspergillosis, are caused by fungi. 
Those diseases of which the cause is unknown or imperfectly worked 
out are pleuropneumonia, rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, rabies, 
cowpox, malignant catarrh, and dysentery. 

Bacteria may be defined as very minute, unicellular organisms of a 
plantlike character. Their form is very simple, as may be seen from 
an inspection of the various species depicted on Plate XXVIII. 
The description of these figures will be found on page 358. The 
magnification there given will furnish the reader some idea of their 
very minute size. They multiply in two ways. The bacterium elon- 
gates and then divides in the middle to form 2 daughter cells. These 
go through the same process at once, and thus 4 cells are produced. 
The division of these leads to 8, the division of 8 to 16, and so 
on indefinitely. The rapidity with which this multiplication takes 
place depends upon the nature of the bacterium. The bacillus of 
tuberculosis multiplies very slowly, while that of anthrax does so 
with great rapidity, provided both are in the most favorable condi- 
tion. Another mode of reproduction, limited to certain classes of 
bacteria, consists in the formation of a spore within the body of the 
bacterium. Spore formation usually takes place when the conditions 
pertaining to the growth of the bacteria become unfavorable. The 
spores are much more resistant to destructive agents than the bacteria 
which produced them. The anthrax spore may live several years in 
a dried state, but the anthrax bacillus perishes in a few days under 
like conditions. This matter will be referred to again wiien we come 
to discuss the subject of disinfection. 

Of the protozoa which cause disease very little is at present 
known. One which produces Texas fever is pictured on Plate 
XLV, in figs. 4 and 5. These parasites have a more complex life 
history than bacteria; and as they can not be grown in artificial 
media, their thorough investigation is at present hampered with 
great difficulties. 

The differences in the symptoms and lesions of the various infec- 
tious diseases are due to differences in the respective organisms caus- 
ing them. Similarly the great differences observed in the sources 
from which animals become infected and the manner in which infec- 
tion takes place are due to differences in the life history of these 
minute organisms. Much discussion has taken place of late years 
concerning the precise meaning of the words " infection " and " con- 



VARIOUS BACTERIA WHICH PRODUCE DISEASE IN CATTLE. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XXVIII. 

The bacteria on this plate are partly from tissues, partly from cultures, and 
stained artificially with aniline colors (fuchsiu or methylene blue). Figs 6 and 
7 are copied from Frankel and Pfeiffer's atlas. All but fig. 7 are magnified 
1,000 times; fig. 7, 500 times. 

Fig. 1. Bacteria from pneumonia in cattle. These are also the cause of 
hemorrhagic septicemia and are closely related to swine-plague bac- 
teria. These bacteria were drawn from a piece of spleen pulp (rabbit). 

Fig. 2. Micrococci (streptococcus) which produce inflammation of the lining 
membranes of the abdomen, thorax, heart, brain, and joints. Fre- 
quently associated with the preceding bacteria in abscesses. 

Fig. 3. Micrococci (staphylococcus) which produce inflammation and sup- 
puration ; also pyemia. 

Fig. 4. Bacilli of blackleg. The pale oval bodies as well as the light spots 
in one end of the bacilli represent spores. 

Fig. 5. Bacilli which produce tetanus or lockjaw. The light spot in the en- 
larged end of each rod represents a spore. 

Fig. 6. Bacilli of tuberculosis. Microscopic sections of a pearly nodule from 
the lining membrane of the chest cavity. The bacilli are stained red 
and appear as small straight rods within the cells of the nodule or 
tubercle. 

Fig. 7. Bacilli of anthrax. Bacilli from the spleen of a mouse inoculated 
with a culture. The bacilli were obtained from the blood of a cow 
which died of anthrax in Mississippi. The bacilli appear as rods 
stained blue. The round bodies are blood corpuscles, also stained 
artificially. 
358 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept. of Agr 



Plate XXVIII 




Fig. i 



Fig. 2 



Fig 3. 





Pig. 4 



Pig. 5 




Haines del. 



Fig. 6 







y 




Fig. 7 



' SOT BALTIMORE. 



VARIOUS BACTERIA WHICH PRODUCE DISEASE IN CATTLE. 



DISCUSSION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 359 

tagion." These words, however, are now wholly inadequate to 
express the complex processes of infection, and it may be said that 
each species of bacterium or protozoon has its own peculiar way of 
invading the animal bod} 7 , differing more or less from all the rest. 
There are, however, a few broad distinctions which may be expressed 
with the help of these old terms. Infection, as laid down above, 
refers at present in a comprehensive way to all microorganisms 
capable of setting up disease in the body. Some microorganisms are 
transmitted directly from one animal to another, and the diseases 
produced may be called contagious. Among these/ are included 
pleuropneumonia, rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, rabies, cowpox, 
and tuberculosis. Again, certain organisms are perhaps never trans- 
mitted from one animal to another, but may come from the soil. 
Among these are tetanus, blackleg, anthrax to a large extent, and 
perhaps actinomycosis in part. These diseases, according to some 
authorities, may be called miasmatic. There is a third class of infec- 
tious diseases, the specific bacteria of which are transmitted from 
one animal to another, as with the contagious diseases, but the bac- 
teria may, under certain favorable conditions, find food enough in 
the soil and in the surroundings of animals to multiply to some ex- 
tent after they have left the sick animal and before they gain entrance 
into a healthy one. 

This general classification is subject to change if we take other 
characteristics into consideration. Thus tuberculosis, because of its 
insidious beginning and slow course, would not by many be consid- 
ered contagious in the sense that foot-and-mouth disease is; yet, in 
either case, the bacillus must come from preexisting disease. The 
disease of rabies, or hydrophobia, is not contagious in the sense that 
rinderpest is, because the virus of rabies must be inoculated into a 
wound before it can take effect; yet, in both cases, the virus passes 
without modification from one animal to another, though in different 
ways. 

Again, all the diseases under the second group, which seem to come 
from the soil and from pastures, are in one sense contagious in that 
the virus may be taken from a sick animal and inoculated directly, 
with positive results, into a healthy animal. Other illustrations may 
be cited which show that these old terms are not in themselves satis- 
factory. There are so man} 7 conditions which enter into the process 
of infection that no single classification will give a sufficiently correct 
or comprehensive idea of it. These statements will be easily under- 
stood if the different infectious diseases in the following pages are 
studied with reference to the way or ways in which each disease may 
be contracted. Enough has been said, therefore, to show that if we 
wish to make ourselves acquainted with the dangers of any given 



360 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

disease, we must study it and not rely upon any single work to tell 
the whole story. 

Infectious diseases have, as a general rule, a period of incubation, 
which comprises the time elapsing between the exposure to the infec- 
tion and the actual appearance of the disease. This period varies 
with the malady. The most common symptom of this class of dis- 
eases is fever. The severity of the fever is measured by the tempera- 
ture of the animal; this is readily and accurately ascertainable by 
the clinical thermometer. (See PI. Ill, fig. 1.) The other symp- 
toms are variable and depend upon the particular organ or organs 
most implicated. Loss of appetite, cessation of rumination and milk 
secretion, and general dullness are symptoms quite invariably pres- 
ent in most infectious diseases. 

During the course of infectious diseases secondary diseases or com- 
plications may arise which are largely caused by bacteria other than 
those producing the original malady. These complications are often 
so severe as to become fatal. In general it may be stated that they 
are due to filthy surroundings, and hence cleanliness may become an 
important aid to recovery. 

The treatment of infectious diseases is given under each malady so 
far as this is allowable or advisable. These diseases are not, as a rule, 
amenable to treatment. When the symptoms have once appeared the 
disease is liable to run its course in spite of treatment, and if it is one 
from which animals usually recover, all that can be done is to put 
them into the most favorable surroundings. Many infectious dis- 
eases lead sooner or later to death, treatment is useless so far as the 
sick are concerned, and it may be worse than useless for those not 
yet infected. All animals suffering with infectious diseases are more 
or less directly a menace to all others. They represent for the time 
being manufactories of disease germs, and they are giving them 
off more or less abundantly during the period of disease. They may 
infect others directly or they may scatter the virus about, and the 
surroundings may become a future source of infection for healthy 
animals. This leads us to the subject of prevention as the most im- 
portant of all which claim our attention. In this place only a few 
general remarks will suffice to bring the subject before the reader. 

The most important thing is to keep disease away from a herd or 
farm. To do this all sick or suspicious animals should be avoided. 
A grave form of disease may be introduced by apparently mild or 
trivial cases brought in from without. It is generally conceded that 
continual change and movement of animals are the most potent means 
by which infectious diseases are disseminated. 

With some cattle diseases, such as anthrax, rinderpest, and pleuro- 
pneumonia, preventive inoculation is resorted to in some countries. 
This may be desirable when certain diseases have become established 



DISINFECTION FOR CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 361 

in any locality so that eradication is impossible. It should not be 
practiced in territories where a given disease may still be extirpated 
by ordinary precautions. Preventive inoculation is applicable to 
only a few maladies, and therefore its aid in the control of diseases 
is limited. 

When an infectious disease has gained foothold in a herd the course 
to be pursued will depend upon the nature of the malady. A good 
rule is to kill diseased animals, especially when the disease is liable 
to run a chronic course, as in tuberculosis. The next important step 
is to separate the well from the sick by placing the former on fresh 
ground. This is rarely possible; hence the destruction or removal 
of the sick, with thorough disinfection of the infected locality, is the 
next thing to be done. As to the disinfectants to be used, special 
directions are given under the various diseases, to which the reader 
is referred. Here we will simply call attention briefly to the gen- 
eral subject. 

DISINFECTION AND DISINFECTANTS. 

Disinfection consists in the use of certain substances which possess 
the power to destroy bacteria or their spores, or both. Those which 
are cheapest and most available for animal diseases are ordinary 
freshly slaked lime or unslaked in powder, chlorid of lime, crude car- 
bolic acid, corrosive sublimate, formaldehyde gas, formalin, and 
compound cresol solution. 

(1) Slaked lime is perhaps the most easily procured, but its disin- 
fecting power is limited. While it is capable of destroying all bac- 
teria in their vegetative state, it is unable to destroy such spores as 
those of anthrax and blackleg. It is probable, however, that in 
incrusting spores it may destroy their vitality sooner or later. It is 
regarded as safe practice to use only spore-destroying substances for 
the virus of those diseases of which we have no definite knowledge. 
Nevertheless, in the absence of other disinfectants, lime is very useful. 
It may be employed as a whitewash on wood and stone and sprinkled 
as a dilute wash or in powder over yards, manure heaps, and over 
carcasses before they are buried, and over the ground on which they 
have lain to prevent other animals from carrying the infection away. 

(2) Chlorid of lime is more efficient than simple slaked or unslaked 
lime, as it destroys spores. It is the ordinary bleaching powder 
of commerce and is quite unstable, hence old preparations, unless 
sealed, are of little value. A 5 per cent solution is sufficiently strong 
for all spore-bearing bacteria (3 ounces in 2 quarts of water) . It may 
be efficiently applied to the walls and floor of an infected stable by 
mixing with limewash in the proportion of 6 ounces of the lime to 
each gallon of limewash. The ceilings and those portions of the 
walls which can not be reached should be disinfected by means of 



362 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

chlorin gas liberated from the chlorid of lime by crude carbolic 
acid. This is accomplished by making a cone of 5 or 6 pounds of 
chlorid of lime, in the top of which a deep crater is made for the 
placement of from 1 to 2 pints of crude acid. The edge of the crater 
is thereupon pushed into the fluid, when a lively reaction follows. 
The fumes of chlorin are strongly irritating to the respiratory tract 
and therefore all live stock should be removed before the work is 
started. Owing to the heat generated, it is advisable to place the 
lime in an iron crucible and to have nothing inflammable within a 
radius of 2 feet. The number and location of these cones of chlorid 
of lime depend on the size and structure of the building to be dis- 
infected. As a rule, it may be stated that chlorin gas liberated from 
the above-sized cone will be sufficient for disinfecting 5,200 cubic feet 
of air space. 

(3) Crude carbolic acid. The ordinary purified carbolic acid is too 
expensive to be used on a large scale, and the crude produce is a very 
good substitute. This is made more powerful by mixing with it an 
equal volume of commercial sulphuric acid. While the sulphuric acid 
is being added to the crude carbolic acid much heat is evolved, and if 
the glass jar in which the two are mixed is placed in cold water 
the resulting product is said to have a higher disinfecting power. 
The mixture is added to water enough to make a 5 per cent solution 
(about 7 ounces to 4 quarts of water). This is strong enough for 
all purposes. It may be kept in wood or glass, but not in metal, 
owing to the corroding action of the acid. It should be used freely 
on woodwork and on infected floors, and a force pump of the kind 
used by orchardists is very convenient as a means of applying the 
disinfectant. If the solution is warm when applied, it will pene- 
trate the woodwork better than when cold, especially if the spraying 
is done during cold weather. The addition of air-slaked lime in any 
quantity that will dissolve in water to the above solution (say 1| 
pounds of lime to 7 ounces of crude carbolic acid to each gallon of 
water) is preferred by many, as it makes any neglected places at once 
visible and leaves cleaner and better air within the buildings. In 
most cases in which its application becomes desirable — and this rule 
should apply to all disinfections — the disinfected stables, stalls, etc., 
should remain vacant as long as possible before cattle are again 
stabled therein. 

(4) Mercuric chlorid, or corrosive sublimate, is a powerful disin- 
fectant, but it is likewise very poisonous ; hence its uses are limited. 
Cattle are especially susceptible to its action and caution must be 
used in its application. A solution of one-tenth of 1 per cent is 
usually sufficient (1 ounce to 8 gallons of water). It should not be 
placed in wooden pails, which would form the tannate of mercury, 
a weak antiseptic; nor, owing to its corrosive action, should expen- 



DISINFECTION FOR CONTAGIOUS DISEASES. 363 

sive metal pails be used. Agate vessels or tin pails are to be pre- 
ferred. All solutions should be labeled "poison," and to avoid 
accidents none should be kept on hand. 

(5) Formalin and formaldehyde gas have been found very effica- 
cious as sanitary agents. Formalin is the commercial name for the 
40 per cent solution of formaldehyde gas in water, and is one of the 
most powerful antiseptic and disinfectants that we possess. Solu- 
tions of this strength are manufactured by different commercial 
houses and sold by the drug trade under the name of " f ormalose " 
and " formal." In this connection it should be mentioned that while 
the 40 per cent solution of formaldehyde gas and formalin are ex- 
actly the same thing, the former can be purchased at 33^ to 64 per 
cent less than the latter. Formalin, diluted with water in the pro- 
portion of 1 pint to 30 parts of water, or 4 ounces to each gallon of 
water, may be applied, and it may thus be used as a wash or as 
a spray on all paints, metals, and woodwork, as well as on clothing 
and other fabrics, without injuring them. It may also be applied 
to floors, Avails, and woodwork in whitewash by mixing 1 part to 
30 parts of lknewash, or 4 ounces to each gallon of limewash. 
Formalin has the appearance of water and in the strong solu- 
tion is poisonous, but when diluted as recommended above it is not 
dangerous. The fumes given off by it, however, are very disagree- 
able and irritating to the eyes and nasal mucous membranes. One 
and one-half ounces of formalin added to 1 gallon of water is a valu- 
able agent for the disinfection of the skin or septic wounds, but is 
somewhat painful and irritating to raw surfaces. 

Formaldehyde is a gas which is soluble in 2^ parts of water (40 
parts of formaldehyde gas to 100 parts of water) ; this solution 
constitutes the formalin of commerce. The use of formaldehyde gas 
is in most cases impracticable for stable disinfection. In case the 
stable is not too large and can be made almost air-tight the genera- 
tion of formaldehyde gas, after removing all the animals, will be 
found very serviceable. It penetrates all parts of the stable — the 
walls, crevices, floors, ceiling — and is probably the best fumigating 
disinfectant that we have. 

Probably one of the most simple and practical methods of liber- 
ating this gas is by means of the chemical reaction which takes place 
when formalin is poured upon permanganate of potassium. For 
each 1,000 cubic feet of air space, 16f ounces of crystallized or 
powdered permanganate of potassium is placed in a wide-surfaced 
pan; 20 ounces of formalin is then poured upon it ? and the stable 
immediately closed for a period of 12 hours or longer. This method 
is efficient only when it is possible to seal tightly the place to be 
disinfected, and should be used only by experienced persons. 



364 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

(6) Some coal-tar products are cheap, effective, and easily applied 
disinfectants, their action being due to the carbolic acid and creosote 
in their composition. They may be used in 3 to 5 per cent solution. 
As a rule they form a milky solution in water. 

(7) Compound solution of cresol (liquor cresolis compositus), 
now recognized as an official preparation, is composed of equal parts 
of cresol and linseed-oil-potash soap. The mixture is a thick, dark, 
amber-colored fluid which mixes readily with water in all propor- 
tions to form a clear, soap solution. It is an efficient disinfectant in 
a 3 or 4 per cent solution, and in this strength it may be applied in 
the same manner as a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid. 

When it is desired to apply one of these above-mentioned agents to 
the stable or barnyard, a preliminary cleaning up of all debris and 
litter is advisable, together with the scraping of the floor, mangers, 
and walls of the stable with hoes; also the removal of all dust and 
filth. This should be followed by the burning of all such accumula- 
tions, inasmuch as this material likewise contains the infectious prin- 
ciple and is best destroyed by heat. Heat may be applied to the 
surface of the affected pen, byre, or barnyard by means of a cyclone 
burner, which consists of a tank, pump, hose, and cyclone nozzle for 
spraying with paraffin (gas oil). The latter is ejected in the form of 
spray, which when ignited gives a very hot and effective flame to be 
applied to the infected ground. Where such burning is impracticable 
the surface soil of the yard and surroundings should be removed to a 
depth of 5 or 6 inches and then placed in a heap and thoroughly 
mixed with air-slaked lime. The fresh surface of the soil thus ex- 
posed may then be sprinkled with the disinfectant. 

In addition to these artificial substances there are several natural 
sanitary agents of great importance as destroyers of virus. These 
are cleanliness, ventilation, drying, and sunshine. All virus, ex- 
cepting such as may live in the soil, is killed sooner or later by drying 
and sunshine, and the importance of these factors in the daily life of 
animals need not be insisted on here. Finally, all sanitary measures 
which contribute to the healthfulness of animal surroundings are 
directly or indirectly inimical to disease germs, and all carelessness 
in the keeping of animals may be regarded as an ally of these de- 
structive organisms. 

CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 

[Pis. XXIX-XXXII.] 

Definition and history. — This disease has been eradicated from the 
United States, and it is not probable that it will ever be seen in this 
country again. As, however, much interest was manifested in regard 



CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 365 

to it for a number of years, and as our cattle are still prohibited from 
some foreign markets on account of its previous existence here, the 
subject is treated at greater length than would otherwise be necessary. 

The contagions pleuropneumonia of cattle is a specific, epizootic 
disease which affects bovine animals, and from which other species 
are exempt. It is characterized, when the disease results from ex- 
posure in the usual manner, by an inflammation of the lungs and 
pleura?, which is generally extensive, and which has a tendency tc 
invade portions of these organs not primarily affected and to cause 
death of the diseased portion of the lung. This disease is frequently 
called the lung plague, which corresponds with its German name 
of Lungenseuche. In French it is spoken of as the peripneumonie 
contagieuse. 

The history of the contagious pleuropneumonia of cattle can not be 
traced with any certainty to a period earlier than the beginning of 
the eighteenth century. No doubt it existed and ravaged the herds of 
Europe for many years and perhaps centuries before that time, but 
veterinary knowledge was so limited that the descriptions of the 
symptoms and post-mortem appearance are too vague and too limited 
to admit of the identification of the maladies to which they refer. It 
has been supposed by some writers that certain passages in the writ- 
ings of Aristotle, Livy, and Virgil show the existence of pleuro- 
pneumonia at the time that their works were composed, but their 
references are too indefinite to be seriously accepted as indicating 
this rather than some other disease. 

It seems quite plain that as early as 1713 and 1714 pleuropneu- 
monia existed in Suabia and several Cantons of Switzerland. There 
are even clearer accounts of its prevalence in Switzerland in 1732, 
1743, and 1765. In 1769 a disease called murie was investigated in 
Franche-Comte by Bourgelat which undoubtedly was identical with 
the pleuropneumonia of to-day. From that period we have frequent 
and well-authenticated accounts of its existence in various parts of 
Europe. During the period from 1790 to 1812 it was spread through- 
out a large portion of the Continent of Europe by the cattle driven 
for the subsistence of the armies, which marched and countermarched 
in all directions. It was generally prevalent in Italy in 1800. It 
appears to have been unknown, however, in the Department of the 
Nord, France, until 1826, but during the years from 1820 to 1840 it 
penetrated into most parts of that country. During the same period 
it was introduced into and allowed to spread over Belgium and 
Holland. 

This contagion is said to have been carried to Ireland from Hol- 
land in 1839, and is reported as existing in England in 1842. The 
disease was brought to the United States at several different times. 
Probablv its first introduction was with a diseased cow sold in Brook- 



366 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

lyn, N. Y., in 1843. It came to New Jersey by importing affected 
animals in 1847. Massachusetts was infected in the same way in 1859. 

South Africa was infected by a bull brought from Holland in 1854, 
and Australia likewise received the contagion with an English cow in 
1858. It is also reported as existing in various parts of the Continent 
of Asia, but the time of its first appearance and the extent of its dis- 
tribution are very uncertain. 

Some countries, such as Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which had 
been infected for only a short time, have succeeded in eradicating the 
disease without much difficulty by slaughtering all affected and ex- 
posed animals. Other countries long infected and in which the con- 
tagion was thoroughly established, like Australia, South Africa, 
Italy, France, Belgium, and parts of Germany, have labored long, 
in some cases making no progress and in others being only partially 
successful. Holland was one of the first of the thoroughly infected 
countries to free itself from the contagion. 

In the United States, Massachusetts eradicated pleuropneumonia 
during the period from 1860 to 1866. New York and New Jersey 
made an attempt to eradicate it in 1879, but were not successful. 
Late in 1883 the contagion was carried to Ohio, probably by Jersey 
cattle purchased in the vicinity of Baltimore, Md., to which place it 
had extended before 1868. From the herd then infected it was 
spread by the sale of cattle during 1884 to a limited number of herds 
in Illinois, to one herd in Missouri, and to two in Kentucky. The 
alarm caused among the stock owners of the United States by this 
widespread dissemination of a disease so much dreaded led to the 
adoption of active measures for its control and eradication. By co- 
operation between the United States Department of Agriculture and 
the authorities of the affected States it was found possible to prevent 
the further spread of the contagion and to eradicate it after a few 
months' delay. 

In 1886 pleuropneumonia was discovered in some of the large dis- 
tillery stables of Chicago and among cows on neighboring lots. This 
led to renewed efforts for the complete extirpation of this disease 
from the country. Congress in 1887 enlarged the appropriation 
available for this purpose and gave more extended authority. Dur- 
ing the same year the disease was stamped out of Chicago, and has 
not since appeared in any district west of the Allegheny Mountains. 

The work of eradication was at the same time commenced in all 
the infected States. Before the end of the year 1889 Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia had been 
freed from the disease. More difficulties, however, were encountered 
in the States of New York and New Jersey, on account of the larger 
territory infected and the density of the population. The long strug- 
gle was successful, however, and the last animal in which the disease 



CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 367 

appeared in the State of New York was slaughtered early in 1891, 
and the last one affected in New Jersey met the same fate early in 
the spring of 1892. 

During these same years a supreme effort had been made to stamp 
out this lung plague from Great Britain. From the official reports 
it appears that the number of infected districts and of diseased ani- 
mals had rapidly diminished, but it was not until 1898 that the in- 
fection was finally eradicated. 

The other infected European countries, though they maintain a 
veterinary sanitary service, are not making satisfactory progress in 
eradicating the disease. This is owing partly to delays in carrying 
out the provisions of the laws and partly to mistaken ideas as to the 
measures which are necessary to accomplish the object. The United 
States was the last of the coimtries having old infected districts 
which undertook to stamp out this contagion, and, except Holland, 
it was the first to reach success. 

The cause {etiology) of pleuropneumonia. — This is a contagious 
disease, and arises only by contagion from a previously affected 
animal ; consequently it can never be seen here except as the result of 
importing affected animals from the Old World. When thoroughly 
stamped out it does'not reappear; and if imported animals continue 
to be properly inspected and quarantined, we have every reason to 
believe that pleuropneumonia will never again be seen in this 
country. 

The exact nature of the virus or contagion of lung plague has 
never been determined. Various investigators have from time to 
time claimed the discovery of the specific organism of the disease, 
but it was not until 1898 that Nocard and Roux, by an ingenious 
method of cultivation, succeeded in obtaining a very feeble growth 
of an exceedingly minute microorganism. With these cultures the 
disease was produced in cattle. 

Some investigators and writers are of the opinion that the disease 
can be contracted only by an animal coming near enough to a living 
diseased one to receive the contagion directly from it. They hold 
that the contagion is expired with the air from the affected lungs, 
and that it must be almost immediately inspired by another animal 
in order to produce the disease. Some experimental attempts to 
infect animals by placing them in stables where diseased animals 
have been, and by placing the diseased lungs of slaughtered animals 
in their feeding troughs have failed, and, consequently, apparently 
confirm this view. 

On the other hand, it is known that the serum from affected lungs 
retains its virulence and may be used successfully for inoculation 
weeks or months after the death of the animal from which it was 
taken. This is particularly the case when this liquid is hermetically 



CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate XXIX. Upper or dorsal surface of the lungs of the ox, reduced to one- 
twelfth of the natural size : a, a', the right and left principal lobes. 
These are the largest and are situated posteriorly, resting upon the 
diaphragm ; b, b', the ventral lobes, situated between the principal 
lobes; and c, c', c" the most anterior, or cephalic, lobes. The right 
anterior is divided into two lobes (c, c'), the left is single (c") ; 
(I, trachea, or windpipe. 

In the majority of the lungs examined in the laboratory of the 
bureau which were affected with contagious pleuropneumonia the prin- 
cipal lobes {a, a') were primarily affected. 

Plate XXX. Bronchopnumonia. The ventral or middle lobe of the right lung 
affected with collapse and beginning bronchopneumonia. The light 
yellowish portions represent healthy lung tissue ; the red represents 
the disease. It will be noticed that the lines between the lobules are 
quite faint, indicating little or no inflammation of the connective tissue 
between the lobules. The healthy lung tissue is seen to be raised above 
the level of the diseased portion. In contagious pleuropneumonia the 
exact reverse is the case, the diseased portions being very much larger 
than the healthy. 

Plate XXXI. Contagious pleuropneumonia. Appearance of a cow's lung af- 
fected with contagious pleuropneumonia when sections or slices are 
made of it and cut surfaces examined. 
Fig. 1. Transverse section through the right principal lobe in a case of 
acute pleuropneumonia. The area drawn includes the air tubes, veins, 
and arteries, and illustrates the great thickening of the interlobular 
connective tissue into broad whitish bands and of the walls of the air 
tubes, veins, and arteries : a, air tube cut obliquely ; a', air tube cut 
directly across ; b, arteries cut across ; c, large vein completely occluded 
by a thrombus or plug formed during life. The great thickening of 
the walls of the artery and vein in this disease is especially brought 
out by stating that in the healthy lung they are so thin as to be easily 
overlooked. 
Fig. 2. Transverse section of the principal lobe in a case of acute pleuro- 
pneumonia, illustrating the different kinds of hepatization or consolida- 
tion of the lung. These are indicated by the different colors from 
dark red to reddish yellow. This variation of color is regarded by 
some as the real marbling characteristic of pleuropneumonia, while the 
whitish bands penetrating the lung tissue in all directions constitute 
the true marbling according to other observers. 

Plate XXXII. Contagious pleuropneumonia. This illustrates what are called 
infarctions. The right half of the figure shows nearly normal lung 
tissue. The left represents a blackish mass, in which the lung tissue 
is filled with blood and solidified. This is caused by the plugging of 
the vein carrying away the blood from this portion. The heart forces 
the blood through the artery into the tissue at considerable pressure, 
but owing to the fact that its return is prevented, the minute blood 
vessels rupture and the air vesicles become distended with blood, which 
coagulates and causes the firmness of the tissue. 
368 



Diseases of Cattle — U. S. Dept of Agr 



Plate XXIX. 




tHOENaCO BALTIMORE 



Upper or Dorsal Surface of the Lungs of the Ox. 
(.Ti natural size.) 



Diseases of Cattle — U. S. Dept of Agr. 



Plate XXX. 




kCO BALTIMORE, 



Broncho-Pneumonia. 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept. of Agr. 



Plate XXXI 




Fig. 1 




Fig. 2 

Contagious Pleuro-Pneumonia. 



iHOENBCO BALTIMORE. 



iseases of Cattle— U. 5. Dept. of Agr 



Plate XXXII. 




CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 369 

sealed in glass tubes. Other investigators state that they have suc- 
cessfully infected cattle by placing, in the nostrils, sponges or pledg- 
ets of cotton saturated with such serum. Cattle have also, accord- 
ing to the best evidence obtainable, been infected from the clothing 
of attendants, from horns used in drenching, and from smelling 
about wagons which have been used to transport affected carcasses. 
In the work of eradicating pleuropneumonia from the United States 
man}' stables were found in which the disease would appear and 
reappear after the slaughter of affected herds, and in spite of any 
precautions which were adopted. These were always old stables, 
with woodwork in a decaying condition and with floors underlaid 
with filth which could not be thoroughly removed or disinfected. 
In every one of these cases the destruction of the stable, the burning 
of the lumber of which it was constructed, the removal of the ac- 
cumulations beneath the floors, and thorough disinfection, prevented 
the recurrence of the plague in new stables built upon the same 
premises. This experience conclusively shows that under certain 
conditions, at least, stables may retain the infection for a consider- 
able time, and that when restocked the disease may break out again 
from such infection. 

As a rule, however, the disease is acquired by a healthy animal 
being near an affected one and receiving the contagion direct. 
Affected animals may give off the contagion in the early stages of the 
disease before the symptoms are apparent to the observer; also, they 
may retain this infectious character, if they survive the attack, for 
six months and probably for a year after all symptoms of the dis- 
ease have disappeared. 

Incubation. — The time which elapses between exposure to the con- 
tagion of pleuropneumonia and the first appearance of the symptoms 
of this disease varies greatly with different individuals and with dif- 
ferent outbreaks of the disease. Ordinarily the symptoms of disease 
make their appearance within three to six weeks after exposure; 
they may be observed, however, within two Aveeks or they may not 
be'come apparent until nearly or quite three months. It is this long 
period of incubation and the great length of time that an animal 
may disseminate the contagion after apparent recovery which give 
the plague that insidious character so often spoken of, and which 
greatly increase the difficulties of eradication. 

Symptoms— The symptoms are such as would be expected with 
inflammation of the lungs and pleura?, but they vary considerably, 
according to the type which the disease manifests. If the attack is 
an acute one, as is frequently seen in hot weather, the symptoms 
appear suddenly ; the breathing becomes rapid and difficult, the ani- 
mal grunts or moans with each expiration, the shoulders stand out 
from the chest, the head is extended on the neck, the back is arched, 
33071°— 10— 24 



370 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the temperature is 104° to 107° F., the milk secretion is suspended, 
there is no appetite, rumination is stopped, the animal may bloat and 
later be affected with a severe diarrhea. Such cases are generally 
fatal in 7 to 20 days. 

Very often the attack comes on slowly and the symptoms are much 
less clear. In the mildest cases there is a cough for a week or two, 
but no appreciable loss of appetite or elevation of temperature. The 
lungs are but slightly affected and recovery soon follows. Such 
animals may disseminate the contagion for a long time without being 
suspected, and for that reason are the most dangerous of all. 

A more severe type of the plague is the most frequently seen. In 
these cases the cough is frequent, more or less painful, the back 
somewhat arched, and the milk secretion diminished. The promi- 
nence of these symptoms increases, the appetite is affected, the ani- 
mal loses flesh, the breathing becomes more rapid, the cough more 
painful, pressure of the fingers-between the ribs shows tenderness, the 
hair loses its gloss and stands erect, the skin becomes adherent, little, 
if any, milk is secreted, and the temperature rises, varying in differ- 
ent animals from 103° to 107° F. Animals thus affected may con- 
tinue to grow worse and die in from three to eight weeks, or they may 
after a time begin to improve and make an apparent recovery. The 
inflammation of the lung does not, as a rule, subside and the organ 
return to its normal condition, as is the case in ordinary pneumonia, 
but with this disease the life of the affected portion of the lung is 
destroyed, the tissue dies, and a fibrous wall is formed around it to 
shut it away from the living parts. The tissue, thus encysted, gradu- 
ally softens, becomes disintegrated, and breaks down into pus. The 
recovery, therefore, is not complete; it'is only apparent and partial. 

To those accustomed to examining the lungs of cattle, other and 
extremely important symptoms may be apparent during the course of 
the disease. By applying the ear over the walls of the chest an area 
of a certain extent may be found in which the natural breathing 
sound is diminished or entirely lost. This represents the diseased 
portion of the lungs. In other cases a loud blowing sound may" be 
heard, quite different from any sound produced when the lung is in 
a healthy condition. In some cases crepitation is heard near the 
border line of the diseased area and friction sounds produced by the 
roughened pleura ; these can be appreciated, however, only by those 
whose ears have been trained to distinguish between the different 
sounds which reach the ear when applied to the chest wall. By per- 
cussion — that is, by pressing the fingers of the left hand firmly against 
the wall of the chest and tapping upon the middle finger with the 
ends of the fingers of the right hand — an area of dullness may be 
discovered corresponding to the portion from which the respiratory 
murmur has disappeared. This loss of respiration detected by auscul- 



CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 371 

tation, and the dullness brought cut by percussion, are the most im- 
portant evidences of an inflamed or consolidated lung. 

Seriously affected animals remain standing if they have sufficient 
strength, but those which lie down always lie on the affected side. 

The proportion of animals which become affected after being ex- 
posed varies according to the virulence of the outbreak, the sus- 
ceptibility of the animals, and the length of time during which ex- 
posure is continued. Sometimes not more than 15, 20, or 30 per cent 
will contract the disease when a large herd is exposed ; on the other 
hand, however, 80 or 90 per cent may be affected. The proportion of 
cases in which the disease proves fatal also varies greatly — it may not 
exceed 10 and it may reach 50 per cent. In general, it may be said 
that about 10 per cent of the exposed animals will contract the dis- 
ease and about one-half of these cases will prove fatal. 

Post-mortem appearances. — Owing to the complexity of the struc- 
ture of the lung tissue, its ramifications of bronchial tubes and blood 
vessels, and its abundant supply of lymphatics, the pathological 
changes in pleuropneumonia are interpreted with great difficulty. 
Furthermore, there are certain kinds of pneumonia which present 
some resemblances to pleuropneumonia and which may therefore be 
confused with it in some of its phases. 

If we kill an animal affected with acute pleuropneumonia and ex- 
amine the cavity of the chest and lungs, the following appearances 
will be noted : 

The thorax may contain more or less serum, which may be clear or 
clouded. There may be firm adhesions of different parts of the lungs 
to the chest wall, the extent of which depends on the stage and 
severity of the disease. The diseased lobes are unusually large and 
exceedingly firm to the touch. The weight of a single large lobe may 
reach 10 pounds. Usually only one side is affected, often but a single 
lobe, and this most commonly the large or principle lobe. The pleura 
may be covered with one or more layers of a firm, elastic, grayish 
membrane, which varies in thickness and which sometimes may be 
pulled away entirely. Sometimes it is absent. The pleura, however, 
is opaque and apparently very much thickened. This is owing to the 
diseased condition of the connective tissue beneath the pleura, as 
will be explained later. When an affected lobe is cut through at 
right angles to its long diameter, the cut surface presents a variety 
of interesting changes. In the first place the spaces between the 
small subdivisions of the lung (the lobules), which in the healthy 
lung are barely visible, are distended with a yellowish-white, usually 
quite firm, substance, which is coagulated fibrin. The cut surface 
thus appears divided into small fields by yellowish-white bands of 
varying thickness running in various directions through the lung tis- 
sue and beneath the pleura. (PI. XXXI.) These bands may appear 



372 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

honeycombed and the spaces filled with yellowish fluid (serum) or 
they may be uniformly solid. It will also be noticed that the space 
immediately outside of and around the artery, vein, and air tube is 
similarly broadened by fibrinous deposits. Some authorities look 
upon these bands as constituting the so-called " marbling " of pleuro- 
pneumonia. 

In addition to these changes which have taken place in the connec- 
tive tissue between the lobules, the lung tissue itself may be mark- 
edly altered. Certain areas of the cut surface may be very firm in 
texture and of a brownish-red color. The cut surface is granular or 
roughened, not smooth to the eye. Other areas equally firm may be 
more grayish yellow and still others may be blackish. (PL 
XXXII.) Besides these areas which represent solidified (hepatized) 
lung tissue there may be others which approach the normal lung tis- 
sue in color, are soft, and float in water. From these a milky, 
purulent fluid may often be expressed. These different shades are 
represented in Plate XXXI, fig. 2, within a small compass. Some 
authorities are inclined to consider these variations in color on the 
same cut surface as the co-called marbling of pleuropneumonia. It 
matters not whether we regard the bands between the lobules or the 
varying shades of the lobules themselves as the marbling, provided 
either or both are peculiar to contagious pleuropneumonia. If we 
examine the blood vessels appearing on such cut surface they will 
usually be found plugged within the firmly hepatized regions. The 
artery contains a dark, soft, removable clot, the vein a grayish-pink, 
granular, fragile plug (thrombus), which adheres firmly to the wall 
of the vein, and if this is slit open, indications of a diseased condition 
of the inner coat will be readily detected. When large regions of the 
lung tissues are hepatized, the main air tube and its branches are 
usually filled with grayish, cylindrical branched masses of fibrin that 
are easily removed, as they do not adhere to the mucous membrane. 

The views of pathologists differ as to the nature of the earliest 
changes in pleuropneumonia, and it is not within the scope of this 
work to present controverted or imperfectly developed theories. In 
the foregoing description we have taken as a type the acute pleuro- 
pneumonia in its fully developed phase, which can scarcely be mis- 
taken for any other disease. We have seen that there is an inflam- 
matory condition of the connective tissue between the lobules, result- 
ing in -the exudation of coagulable lymph. This inflammation is 
equally marked around the blood vessels and air tubes. It leads to 
inflammatory changes in the inner wall of the veins, and these cause 
the deposition of thrombi or plugs in the vessels, which prevent the 
return of the blood. The blood pumped into the lung tissue through 
the artery, but unable to get out by way of the vein, leaves the mesh- 
work of capillaries around the air vesicles, enters the latter, and pro- 



CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 373 

duces the firm, hepatized condition so characteristic of this disease. 
If we bear in mind that the veins in different parts of the lung tissue 
are plugged at different times, and that, therefore, the affected re- 
gions are in different stages of disease, it will be easily understood 
how the different shades of color from dark red to grayish or 
yellowish red are produced. 

The complete plugging of the veins may lead to the death of cir- 
cumscribed masses of lung tissue. A line of separation forms between 
the living and the dead tissue and a thick cyst wall of fibrous tissue 
forms around the latter. The dead tissue for a time preserves the 
appearance of lung tissue, then undergoes disintegration and lique- 
faction. The softened mass is finally absorbed, and the walls of the 
cyst, or capsule around it, gradually collapse and form a cicatrix. 
This favorable termination takes place only when the dead mass is 
not too large. It may, however, involve over half of one of the 
large lobes. Under such circumstances recovery is improbable. A 
more favorable termination is the abundant growth of fibrous tissue 
around and into the hepatized masses. The formation of fibrous 
tissue may extend to the pleura, or lung covering, and cause firm 
adhesion of the lungs to the chest wall and to the pericardium, or 
heart case. 

The same peculiar, inflammatory changes which take place between 
the lobules of the lung and around the bronchi and vessels may invade 
the pleural cavity, cause extensive membranous and spongy deposits 
on the pleura and firm deposits around the heart and large arteries, 
the gullet, and windpipe. 

These are the main features of the lung disease caused by con- 
tagious pleuropneumonia. In the typical, acute cases there are a 
a sufficient number of peculiarities to enable us to make a positive 
diagnosis. There are, however, many cases in which the disease is 
restricted to small areas, or to the interlobular tissue, or in which 
the changes are still imperfectly developed, or else so far advanced 
that doubts may arise as to the true nature of the affection. In 
such cases all obtainable facts, including the history of the case, the 
symptoms during life, and the pathological changes observed on 
post-mortem examination must be taken into consideration. Only 
one who has made a careful study of the disease is fitted to decide 
in such cases. 

Other kinds of lung disease, because of certain features common 
to most lung diseases of cattle, may be confounded with pleuro- 
pneumonia. The inflammation of the connective tissue between the 
lobules is not infrequently observed in so-called interstitial pneu- 
monia and may lead to the formation of whitish bands intersecting 
the lung tissues in various directions. On the cut surface these 
bands may give rise to a decidedly marbled appearance. Again, in 



374 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

traumatic pneumonia, caused, as its name implies, by the entrance 
of foreign bodies into the lung tissue, generally from the paunch, 
the connective tissue around the place of disease becomes inflamed 
and thickened, and the disease itself may simulate pleuropneumonia 
in its retrogressive stages when it is confined to a small portion of 
lung tissue. The filling up of the interlobular spaces with fibrin 
and connective tissue of inflammatory origin is .not thus limited to 
pleuropneumonia, but may appear in a marked degree in other lung 
diseases. It must not be inferred from this statement that these 
interlobular changes are necessarily the same as those in pleuro- 
pneumonia, although to the naked eye they may appear the same. 
We simply note their presence without discussing their nature. 

In general, the distinction between pleuropneumonia and broncho- 
pneumonia is not difficult to make. In the latter disease the pneu- 
monia generally invades certain lobes. The disease attacks the smaller 
lobes in their lowest portions first and gradually extends upward, i. e., 
toward the root of the lung or the back of the animal and backward 
into the large principal lobes. Again, both lungs in advanced cases 
are often symmetrically affected. In contagious pleuropneumonia 
the large principal lobe of one side is most frequently affected, and a 
symmetrical disease of both lungs is very rare, if, in fact, it has ever 
been observed. The lung tissue in bronchopneumonia is not enlarged, 
but rather more contracted than the normal tissue around it. This is 
well illustrated in Plate XXX. Normal, air-containing lobules may 
be scattered among and around the hepatized portion in an irregular 
manner. In pleuropneumonia the diseased and healthy portions are 
either sharply divided off, one from the other, or else they shade into 
each other by intermediate stages. 

The hepatized lung tissue in bronchopneumonia when the cut sur- 
face is examined is usually of a more or less dark flesh color with 
paler grayish-yellow dots regularly interspersed, giving it a peculiar, 
mottled appearance. In the more advanced stages it becomes more 
firm, and may contain nodular and firmer masses disseminated 
through it. The air tubes usually contain more or less soft, creamy, 
or cheesy pus or a turbid fluid quite different from the loose, fibrin- 
ous casts of acute pleuropneumonia. The interlobular tissue may or 
may not be affected. It sometimes contains loose, fibrinous plugs, or 
it may be greatly distended with air, especially in the still normal 
portions of the lung. The pleura is seldom seriously diseased. If 
we contrast with these features the firm dark-red hepatizations, the 
plugging of the veins, the extensive interlobular deposits, and the 
well-marked pleuritis in pleuropneumonia, there is little chance for 
confusion between well-developed cases of these two lung diseases. 

It should not be forgotten, however, that the lesions of the disease 
known as contagious pleuropneumonia may be confined to the serous 



CONTAGIOUS PLEUROPNEUMONIA. 375 

membranes of the thorax, or they may be confined to the parenchyma 
of the lungs ; they may affect a whole lobe, or only a small portion of 
it; they may or may not cause the so-called marbled appearance. 
In the same way bronchopneumonia may vary as to the parts of the 
lung affected, the extent of the lesions, the degree and kind of 
pathological changes in the interlobular tissue, the color of the lung 
on cross section and the amount of hepatization. In individual cases, 
therefore, it is often necessary to take into account the history of the 
animal, the course of the disease, and the communicability of the 
affection before a diagnosis can be made between the two diseases. 

Prevention and treatment. — The prevention of pleuropneumonia, 
as of other contagious diseases, consists in keeping animals so that 
they will not be exposed to the contagion. As the disease arises only 
by contagion, there is no possibility of an animal becoming affected 
with it unless it has been exposed. If, therefore, pleuropneumonia 
exists in a locality the owner of healthy cattle should make every 
effort to keep his animals from coming near affected ones or which 
have been exposed. He should be equally particular not to allow 
persons who have been on the infected premises to visit his own 
pastures, stables, or cattle. 

If pleuropneumonia breaks out in a herd, every animal in it should 
be slaughtered, the stables thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and 
no other cattle allowed on the premises until a period of 90 days has 
elapsed. 

Medical treatment of affected animals is unavailing and should not 
be attempted. No matter how valuable the diseased animals mav 
have been before they contracted the disease, they should at once be 
destroyed and the contagion eradicated. This is the best policy for 
the individual as well as for the community. 

The eradication of this disease by local or National Governments 
can be successful only when the same principles are adopted and 
earned out as here recommended for individual stables. It is then a 
difficult undertaking, simply because the contagion is generally 
widely disseminated before any measures are adopted, and because 
a great majority of cattle owners will never report the existence of 
the disease. Regulations must therefore be enforced which will in- 
sure the prompt discovery of every herd in which the disease ap- 
pears, as well as the destruction of all diseased and exposed animals 
and the thorough disinfection of the premises. 

To discover pleuropneumonia sufficiently early for this purpose, 
the district supposed to be infected should be clearly defined and 
inspectors should be constantly employed to inspect every herd in it 
at least once in two weeks, or, better, once a week. No bovine animal 
should be allowed to go out of the defined district alive, and all 
which enter it should be carefully inspected to insure their freedom 



376 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

from disease. As an assistance to the discovery of diseased herds, 
every animal which, from any cause, dies in the infected district 
and every animal which is slaughtered, even if apparently in good 
health, should be the subject of a careful post-mortem examination. 
Many affected herds will be found in this way. 

In addition to these measures it is also necessary to guard against 
the removal of animals from one stable to another and the mixing of 
herds upon common pastures or in the public highways. The object 
must be to isolate every individual's cattle as completely as possible, 
or otherwise a single affected animal may infect a dozen or more 
herds. To prevent surreptitious sale or trading of cattle, each animal 
must in some way be numbered and recorded in the books kept by the 
official in charge of the district. In the work of the United States 
Department of Agriculture a numbered metal tag was fastened to 
each animal's ear and index books were so arranged that with a 
number given the owner could be at once ascertained, or from the 
owner's name the cattle for which he was responsible could be at once 
learned. In this way, if an animal was missing from a stable, the fact 
became apparent at once, or if one too many was found in a stable 
the number in its ear would indicate where it came from. 

When pleuropneumonia is discovered by these means, the entire 
herd should be slaughtered as soon as the formalities of appraisement 
can be arranged. In country districts the carcasses should be buried, 
as it is generally impracticable to dispose of them in any other way. 
In city districts the animals may be taken to a slaughterhouse, with 
such precautions as are possible to prevent dissemination of the con- 
tagion. The animals should be slaughtered under the supervision of 
an inspector. The healthy carcasses may be utilized for food, but the 
blood, entrails, and all diseased carcasses should be heated to a tem- 
perature equal to that of boiling water or above, and then used for 
the manufacture of fertilizers. 

The disinfection of premises should be thorough and should be car- 
ried out by a trained corps of men employed for the purpose. The 
floors of stables should be removed, the accumulations removed from 
beneath them, the contents of haylofts should be destroyed, and the 
woodwork and soil beneath the stables should be thoroughly drenched 
Avith a solution of bichloricl of mercury, 1 part to 2,000 of water. 
After the flooring is replaced the woodwork should be coated with 
limewash, containing one-fourth pound of chlorid of lime to the gal- 
lon of mixture. 

Usually in these cases the owners are dependent upon their herd of 
cows for a living, and consequently it is difficult or impossible to 
hold the stables vacant for any considerable period. In a majority of 
instances cattle may be admitted at once to stables so disinfected, 
without the reappearance of the disease. Occasionally, however, it 



RINDERPEST. 377 

will reappear without apparent cause. For this reason the inspection 
and other measures must be maintained in the infected district for 
six months or a year after the last case of disease has been disposed of. 

Many people have objected to the slaughter of diseased and ex- 
posed animals as an unscientific and expensive method of eradicating 
the disease. To these it may be answered that it is the only method 
which has ever proved successful, and that in the end it is much 
more economical than temporizing measures. 

Inoculation has been adopted in many countries, and has undoubt- 
edly lessened the death rate, but where this practice is allowed the 
disease is kept up and spreads. For this reason it should be prohib- 
ited wherever there is a possibility and disposition to eradicate the 
contagion. 

RINDERPEST. 

Rinderpest, also known as cattle plague, is an acute, infectious dis- 
ease of cattle, in which the digestive organs are mainly involved. 
Though unknown in this country, the importance of having near at 
hand a few definite facts concerning this disease, should it ever 
reach our shores, will be at once appreciated. A knowledge of such 
facts may aid in an early recognition of the disease. It must not be 
forgotten, on the other hand, that a superficial knowledge of dis- 
eases, such as the layman may gain through reading, not infrequently 
leads to confounding comparatively harmless, noninfectious mala- 
dies with such as are truly dangerous (foot-and-mouth disease, 
rinderpest, etc), and causes temporary panics among stock owners. 

According to some authorities, rinderpest has its home in the ter- 
ritory around the Black Sea and the Volga River in Russia ; accord- 
ing to others, in Central Asia. Thence it has been conveyed at 
various times by cattle to nearly every country of Europe and Asia, 
where it has proved to be a veritable bovine scourge. It probably 
visited Europe as early as the beginning of the Christian era, and 
since then the migrations of the people from the Far East have from 
time to time introduced the disease. Especially during the eight- 
eenth century it was more or less prevalent in Europe, owing to the 
frequent wars, during which herds of cattle were brought from east- 
ern Europe and Asia to supply the demands of the armies. It pre- 
vailed in Europe during the Franco-Prussian "War. At present it 
exists in Russia, South Africa, and the Philippines. 

The virus is conveyed from one country to another chiefly by means 
of infected cattle, although infected hides, wool, and feed may play 
an important part in its dissemination. The railroad facilities of the 
present, which furnish the means of such rapid communication, are 
particularly liable to aid in the spread of the disease. 



378 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

In the past rinderpest has been supposed to be identical with vari- 
ous human diseases, among them smallpox and typhoid fever. These 
suppositions are unfounded, and the view of authorities to-day is 
that it is a disease of a peculiar kind, not identical with any other 
known infectious disease. 

The contagion of rinderpest. — The cause of rinderpest must be 
looked for among microorganisms — most likely bacteria. The inves- 
tigations made thus far for this causal factor have been fruitless. 
However, certain recent experiments would indicate that the unseen 
microbe is of such dimensions that it is withheld by the dense 
bacterial filters, but passes through the more porous ones. For- 
merly it was supposed by various authorities that rinderpest virus 
appeared spontaneously under the influence of deteriorated feed and 
long and exhausting drives ; also during unusual meteorological con- 
ditions. This view, however, is no longer maintained. It is probable 
that in its home in Asia the disease is perpetuated by continual infec- 
tion of fresh animals, and some authorities go even so far as to believe 
that the disease would be entirely stamped out, even in its native 
haunts, by a destruction of all sick and infected herds. However this 
may be, the success of such an undertaking would largely depend on 
the nature of the cause. If a strictly parasitic organism, like the con- 
tagion of pleuropneumonia, it might be completely extirpated in this 
way. If, however, the germs or bacteria may live and multiply out- 
side of the bovine body, in the soil, water, or in some other animal, 
extirpation would be impossible. 

The virus may be transmitted in a variety of ways, both direct 
and indirect, from sick to healthy animals. It is said to be present 
in the various excreta, such as the discharges from the nose, and the 
saliva, the urine, and the manure, of the diseased. For months it 
retains its vitality in a moist state outside the body, and the disease 
is reported to have developed after feeding hay a year after it had 
lain in an infected stable; hence manure and the fodder and bedding 
soiled with discharges may convey it. Persons may carry the virus 
on their shoes, clothing, or implements. Even small animals, such 
as cats and rats, which frequent barns and stables, have been looked 
upon as carriers of the virus. 

Cattle are very susceptible to the disease, and in its virulent type 
all those exposed are said to become infected. Buffaloes, sheep, and 
goats are likewise susceptible, but in a less degree. 

It is also claimed that animals after having passed through one 
attack successfully resist future attacks. Inoculation with virus is 
said to produce immunity, but in many cases the process of inocula- 
tion itself is followed by death. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of rinderpest are not very character- 
istic, and hence the diagnosis of a suspected case in the beginning of 



KINDERPEST. 379 

an invasion is attended with difficulties. Certain appearances which 
are characteristic of one epizootic may be absent in another. Dif- 
ferent observers are not quite agreed as to the most constant and 
important. 

The period of incubation, i. e., the time between the exposure to 
infection and the earliest outward symptoms, varies from three to 
nine days. The first sign is a very high fever, which may reach 
107° F. The heat of the skin varies in different parts of the body, 
and may be felt at the base of the ears and horns. Repeated chills 
are frequently observed. The pulse reaches 50 to 60 beats a minute, 
and in very severe attacks may rise to 90 or 100. 

The animal manifests great debility. The head droops and rests 
on some object of support. One or both ears may droop. The coat 
is staring and the muzzle dry. The secretion of milk diminishes 
very rapidly. Within twelve to twenty hours the usual quantity 
may have become reduced one-half or two-thirds. The back is 
arched, and the four limbs are brought together under the body. 

As the disease progresses, symptoms with reference to the diges- 
tive and respiratory organs become prominent. The mucous mem- 
brane of the mouth and the nose, as well as that of the rectum and 
vagina, becomes reddened, either in patches or diffusely, and assumes 
a scarlet hue. The discharges, at first firm, become softer, and soon 
diarrhea sets in. This is said to be one of the most constant symp- 
toms. The rectum may become everted and paralyzed, and the 
bowels move spontaneously. The discharges become fetid, viscid, 
and streaked with blood. Coughing is a common symptom, and 
by some is considered characteristic. It is associated with dis- 
charges from the nose and vagina and dribbling of saliva from the 
mouth. The eyes also are affected. There is an increased forma- 
tion of a viscid secretion which flows down the face. 

Another series of changes prominent in some epizootics and mild 
or absent in others are the ulcers, or so-called " erosions," in the 
mouth. These begin as red patches and streaks. The mucous mem- 
brane in such localities is converted into a grayish-white slough, 
which, when shed, leaves a small erosion, or ulcer. At the same 
time similar changes may go on in the skin of the thighs, the udder, 
or the scrotum, or about the vagina, which lead to small sloughs. 

In severe cases, which are the most common in the susceptible 
cattle of western Europe, death ensues four to seven days after 
the first appearance of the disease, and is preceded by great ema- 
ciation and debility, fetid, purulent discharges from the nose and 
mouth, and the relaxed rectum and vagina. 

After death, if the animal is opened and the organs carefully 
examined, the chief changes are found in the digestive organs. The 
lining membrane of the mouth and pharynx is covered with mucus, 



380 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

is reddened in spots, and shows superficial, yellowish-gray, cheesy 
patches, which represent dead tissue, and when removed expose 
ulcerated depressions. The same reddening in spots and the yellow- 
ish-gray, cheesy deposits or patches are found in the fourth stomach, 
the small intestines, and more rarely in the cecum, while the third 
stomach, or manyplies, is more or less impacted with dry, hard feed. 
Similar changes may be found on the mucous membrane of the nasal 
cavity, larynx, trachea, the uterus, vagina, and rectum. The lungs 
may be injected, edematous, or pneumonic. The heart muscle is pale 
and flabby, and frequently hemorrhages are observed in its internal 
membrane. The liver may be pale or injected with blood, and at 
times shows hemorrhages beneath its capsule. The bile is thin and 
watery in consistence. The kidneys may be inflamed or contain 
small hemorrhages within their substance or under the capsule. The 
lymphatic glands may be swollen and injected or even hemorrhagic. 

Treatment. — On account of the danger of spreading the infection, 
neither medicinal treatment nor inoculation is permitted in European 
countries, with the exception of Russia, where the disease is more 
generally diffused. The most effective method of exterminating rin- 
derpest in those districts in which the disease is not indigenous has 
been found to be the slaughter of all affected and exposed animals. 
Where the disease is general, successful efforts adopted for its con- 
trol have followed the immunization by inoculation of the exposed 
animals and a strict application of appropriate sanitary measures. 
This protective inoculation has been practiced with very gratifying 
results in Russia, South Africa, and in the Philippine Islands. An 
active immunity is thus induced in susceptible animals which lasts 
until the danger from exposure to the disease is over. This immu- 
nity may be attained (1) by the inoculation of pure bile from an ani- 
mal which recently died of rinderpest, (2) by the inoculation of 
glycerinated bile, followed by pure bile or virulent blood, or (3) 
by the simultaneous inoculation of strong standardized serum and 
virulent blood. 

The latter method has been adopted by the United States Govern- 
ment in its endeavor to exterminate the disease in the Philippines, 
and to protect the cattle and carabaos against rinderpest after their 
importation into those islands. Owing to the existence of this and 
other infectious diseases in the Philippine Islands, an order has been 
issued by the Department of Agriculture prohibiting the landing of 
any live stock or animals of any kind from the Philippines at any of 
the ports of the United States or the dependencies thereof. This pro- 
hibition removes the greatest source of danger to which the United 
States is exposed as the result of its intercourse with the islands. 
The introduction of rinderpest from those countries from which 
we import animals is rendered extremely improbable, especially in 



FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 381 

live animals, owing to its short period of incubation and to the 
90-day quarantine for cattle (counting from date of shipment) and 
15-day (counting from date of landing) quarantine for sheep and 
other ruminants and swine which are at present enforced in the 
United States at all ports of entry. 

FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 

[PI. XXXIII. 1 

Foot-and-mouth disease, also known as aphthous fever, epizootic 
aphtha, and eczema contagiosa, is an acute, highly communicable 
disease chiefly confined to cloven-footed animals and characterized 
by an eruption of vesicles or blisters on the mucous membrane of the 
mouth and on the skin between the toes and above the hoofs. The 
vesicles rupture, forming erosions and ulcerations; there are also 
salivation, tenderness of the affected parts, loss of appetite, lameness, 
emaciation, and diminution in the quantity of milk secreted. 

The tremendous ravages of the disease are seen in the number and 
variety of the species attacked. While it may be regarded as essen- 
tially a disease of cattle, hogs would seem to be as easy a prey. 
Almost in the same grade of receptivity are sheep and goats. Next 
in order of susceptibility come the buffalo, American bison, camel, 
chamois, llama, giraffe, and antelope. Horses, clogs, cats, and even 
poultry may occasionally become infected with the disease, the last 
three being particularly dangerous as carriers of the contagion. 
Man himself is not immune, and the frequency of his infection by 
coming in contact with diseased animals is established by numerous 
observations. 

As with other communicable diseases, the source and origin of 
foot-and-mouth disease have given rise to much speculation. The 
disease had been known in Europe for centuries, but it was not 
until comparatively recent years that the erroneous conceptions of 
its spontaneous origin as a result of climatic and meteorological 
conditions, exhausting journeys, etc., were abandoned. It is now 
conceded that foot-and-mouth disease is propagated by a specific 
virus and that every outbreak starts from some preexisting outbreak. 

So far investigators have been unable to identify or isolate the 
specific organism causing the disease, although numerous attempts 
have been made to cultivate and stain it by laboratory methods. 
Experiments have shown that the virus will pass through standard 
germ-proof filters, thus indicating its minute size and the reason it 
has not been detected by the staining methods. The contagion may 
be found in the serum of the vesicles on the mouth, feet, and udder; 
in the saliva, milk, and various secretions and excretions; also in the 
blood during the rise of temperature. 



382 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

A wide distribution of the virus and a rapid infection of a herd is 
the result. Animals may be infected directly, as by licking, and in 
calves by sucking, or indirectly by such things as infected manure, 
hay, utensils, drinking troughs, railway cars, animal markets, barn- 
yards, and pastures. Human beings may carry the virus on their 
shoes and clothing and transmit it on their hands when milking, since 
the udder is occasionally the seat of the eruption. It may also be 
carried by dogs, cats, rats, chickens, pigeons, etc. Milk in a raw 
state may also transmit the disease to animals fed with it. 

The observations made by some veterinarians would lead us to 
suppose that the virus is quite readily destroyed. It is claimed that 
stables thoroughly cleaned become safe after drying for a short time ; 
hence, litter of all kinds, such as manure or soiled hay and straw, may 
remain infective for a longer time because they do not dry out. 
Other authorities maintain that the virus is quite tenacious and may 
live in stables even so long as a year. They also state that animals 
which have passed through the disease may be a source of infection 
for several months after recovery. 

Unlike most other infectious diseases, foot-and-mouth disease 
ma}^ repeatedly attack the same animals. The immunity conferred 
by an attack is of limited duration. 

The period of incubation (that is, the time between the exposure 
of an animal to infection and the development of the disease) is 
variable, usually from three to six days. The disease may appear 
in 24 hours, or, in exceptional cases, not for 18 days or even longer. 

Losses. — The highly contagious character of foot-and-mouth dis- 
ease and its rapid spread to practically all exposed susceptible ani- 
mals lead to heavy losses. Since the mortality is comparatively low, 
ranging from only 3 per cent or less in mild forms to 30 or 40 per cent 
in malignant cases, the havoc caused by the pestilence is sometimes 
underestimated. But there are other sources of loss which are much 
more important than the actual mortality. The fever and the 
difficulty of eating cause a rapid and extreme loss in flesh and a 
lessening or cessation of the milk secretion. The udders often 
become inflamed and ruined by the formation of abscesses, and cows 
affected in this way are sometimes rendered permanently valueless for 
milk production. The inflammation of the feet may cause the horn 
to drop from the toes, producing great lameness and lasting injury. 
Abortion is frequent, and typical lesions have been observed in the 
newly born at birth. Altogether these losses may amount to 20 or 
30 per cent of the value of the affected animals. 

In addition there are indirect losses of a commercial nature. 
Dairy farmers are put out of business for a time. Necessary quar- 
antine restrictions greatly interfere with the movement of live stock 
and such commodities as hay, straw, hides, and farm produce. The 



FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 383 

business of the stockyards and slaughtering centers is greatly inter- 
fered with. Sometimes it is necessary to close stockyards for disin- 
fection. The whole business of marketing, transporting, feeding, and 
slaughtering is interrupted and deranged. Losses of this character 
may reach enormous proportions. 

The disease in other countries. — Foot-and-mouth disease has pre- 
vailed in Europe for a great many years and has occasioned tre- 
mendous economic losses there. 

In Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Russia the plague has 
existed so long and has gained such a foothold that it is economically 
impossible to fight it with the American methods of slaughter and 
disinfection, for to do so would kill a large percentage of the live 
stock of those countries. In consequence, little or no progress toward 
eradication has been made by the authorities, though the severity of 
the disease in France appears to have abated somewhat in recent 
months. 

The outbreak which appeared in Germany in 1888 increased stead- 
ily until 1892, when it diminished gradually for a few years, but the 
disease again reached great proportions in 1899. Thereafter it 
continued to exist to a greater or less extent until in 1911 it attained 
a virulence unequaled before. In that year 3,366,369 cattle, 1,602,927 
sheep, 2,555,371 hogs, and 53,674 goats were affected. At that time 
the total number of cattle, sheep, swine, and goats in Germany was 
only 51,319,000, while there were in the United States 172,572,000, 
or between three and four times as many. It can readily be imagined, 
therefore, what it would mean to the United States if the disease were 
to gain the foothold here that it had in Germany, where, as these 
figures show, approximately one out of seven of the animals sus- 
ceptible to the disease was affected. 

The German Government, of course, has not left the disease to 
itself. It attempted to control recent outbreaks by the method of 
slaughter, but the pestilence had gained too much headway and was 
too firmly established in too many portions of the country for this 
method to succeed, and the slaughter of the infected herds had to 
be abandoned. It now appears that there is no hope of getting rid 
of it until the virus has worn itself out. As soon as the animals' 
period of acquired immunity is over and favorable conditions present 
themselves, the contagion breaks out with renewed virulence. It 
has been impossible to control it by means of quarantines. One 
scientist has asserted that unless all the infected farms were abso- 
lutely isolated and the movement, not only of live stock but of per- 
sons, absolutely prohibited, the disease could not be stamped out. 
Such a quarantine is, of course, utterly impossible to enforce. In 
portions of Germany the farmers, realizing that the disease is inevi- 
table, make haste to be done with it by exposing their stock deliber- 



384 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ately to mild cases in the hope that this will result in an immediate, 
mild attack and immunity for several years thereafter. Such 
immunity, however, is very uncertain. 

Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, on account of their 
comparatively isolated positions, have been more successful in keep- 
ing out the disease. The outbreaks in those countries have been 
more sporadic, and by resorting to immediate slaughter the authori- 
ties have been able to stamp them out. Great Britain has applied 
both quarantine and slaughter for many years, and in an outbreak 
near Dublin in 1912 measures were adopted which were even more 
stringent than any that have been used in the United States. A 
British official (Cope) asserted in 1899 that after- his country's ex- 
perience with this disease it was " more dreaded by the farmers and 
stock raisers of Great Britain than cattle plague or pleuropneumonia, 
and they are now willing and ready to put up with any restrictions, 
of however drastic a character, considered necessary by the central 
department to stamp it out." The British authorities have suc- 
ceeded in suppressing each outbreak, but reinfection often occurs 
from the neighboring continent. Great Britain has been reported 
as free of the disease for a few months up to the time this is written. 
Sweden is now reported as affected. 

In November, 1906, the disease reached Belgium from France, 
where it was quite prevalent, and by the end of the year every 
Province in Belgium was affected, and the Netherlands as well. 
Efforts to eradicate it from Belgium were unavailing. The Nether- 
lands apparently succeeded in stamping it out for about six months, 
but it has reappeared there. 

The disease is also more or less prevalent in Austria-Hungary, 
Spain, and in the Balkan countries. 

Australia and New Zealand have remained free from it. 

We have less accurate information regarding Asia and Africa, but 
the disease is known to prevail in Japan and China and in the Philip- 
pine Islands, and it is doubtful whether any considerable part of the 
Orient is free from it. 

In South America it is reported as common in Brazil, Argentina, 
and Uruguay, and it probably exists in other countries. 

Canada and Mexico are fortunately free from the disease. 

Outbreaks in the United States. — Foot-and-mouth disease has ap- 
peared in the United States on six different occasions — 1870, 1880, 
1884, 1902, 1908, and 1914. 

An extensive outbreak in 1870 was introduced by way of Canada, 
where the infection was brought by an importation of cattle from 
Scotland. It spread into the New England States and New York 
and appears to have been arrested within a few months. Its failure 
to spread more extensively and its early disappearance have been 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXXIII, 




FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 385 

ascribed to favorable conditions, such as the movement of live stock 
from west to east, the limited trading at that period as compared 
with the present time, the restriction of traffic by winter weather, and 
the infrequency of travel which obtained at that time among people. 

About 1880 two or three lots of animals affected by this disease 
were brought to the United States, but there was no extension from 
the animals originally affected. 

In 1884, at Portland, Me., there was a small outbreak caused by 
imported cattle, and the disease spread to a few herds outside the 
quarantine station. Owing to the small number of animals affected 
and the limited area of territory covered by the disease, it was easily 
controlled by the ordinary measures of quarantine and disinfection. 

It will be observed that in all these early outbreaks the contagion 
was introduced with imported animals. Since the development of a 
stringent system of inspection and quarantine of imported live stock, 
no instance of that kind has occurred. On subsequent occasions the 
infection has evidently been brought in with contaminated products 
or materials and not by means of live animals. 

In November, 1902, the disease was discovered in Massachusetts 
and Ehode Island. The earliest cases were traced to Chelsea, Mass., 
near the docks, and it was suspected for a time that the infection 
ay as brought in with foreign shipping, by some such means as hay, 
straw, halters, ropes, hides, hair, wool, etc. Later developments, 
however, and especially investigations into the cause of the 1908 
outbreak, led to the belief that a more probable source of the infec- 
tion was cowpox vaccine virus imported from a country (probably 
Japan) where foot-and-mouth disease existed, the vaccine virus being 
contaminated with the virus of foot-and-mouth disease. 

A Federal quarantine was declared by the Secretary of Agriculture 
on November 27, 1902, as soon as the nature of the disease was 
established, and steps for eradication were at once taken by the 
Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of 
Agriculture in cooperation with authorities of the affected States. 
The methods followed consisted of inspection to trace and detect the 
disease, quarantine of infected premises and territory, slaughter and 
burial or burning of diseased and exposed animals, and disinfection 
of premises. 

This outbreak involved Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
and Ehode Island, and was eradicated in about six months. Two 
hundred and forty-four herds, including 4,712 cattle, were found 
infected. Of these, 205 herds with 3,872 cattle, as well as 360 hogs 
and 220 sheep and goats, were slaughtered. The cattle infected but 
not slaughtered were those that either died or completely recovered 
before slaughtering could be carried out. The animals slaughtered 
were valued at $184,155.10, and the Federal Government reimbursed 
33071°— 16 25 



386 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

owners to the extent of 70 per cent, or $178,908.57. It is understood 
that the States paid the remainder. The total cost to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture of stamping out the disease was about $300,000. 

The next appearance of the foot-and-mouth disease was early in 
November, 1908, when it was observed in cattle near Danville, Pa. 
A Federal quarantine was issued November 12. The infection was 
traced back to the stockyards at East Buffalo, N. Y., and to Detroit, 
Mich. The disease appeared in the States of Michigan, New York, 
Pennsylvania, and Maryland. A careful and thorough investigation 
made by Mohler of the Bureau of Animal Industry and Rosenau of 
the Public Health Service demonstrated that the outbreak started 
from calves used to propagate vaccine virus at an establishment near 
Detroit, and that the source of the infection was contaminated 
Japanese vaccine virus. 

Vigorous measures of eradication similar to those employed in 
1902-3 were at once put into effect and the disease was stamped out 
in about five months at an expense of about $300,000 to the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, and of about $113,000 to the States. The in- 
spectors made 108,683 visits to farms, stockyards, etc., and inspected 
more than 1,500,000 animals (including reinspections). One hun- 
dred and fifty-seven premises were found infected, and 3,636 animals 
(2,025 cattle, 1,329 hogs, and 282 sheep and goats), valued at 
$90,033.18, were slaughtered. Owners were reimbursed for the value 
of their animals and property destroyed, one-third being paid by the 
States and two-thirds by the Federal Government. 

The latest invasion was discovered in the vicinity of Niles, Mich., 
in October, 1914, after it had evidently been under way since August 
of the same year. This is the most serious and extensive outbreak 
ever known in this country. The disease extended to 22 States and 
the District of Columbia, at places ranging from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific coasts. The work of eradication Avas not completed for 
more than a year. The affected States were Connecticut, Delaware, 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, 
West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Illinois had the largest infected 
area and the largest number of animals affected. The Union Stock 
Yards at Chicago became infected and were a source of dissemina- 
tion of the contagion north, east, south, and west. These and other 
yards found infected were closed temporarily and disinfected. 

The first Federal quarantine was issued October 19, 1914. A cam- 
paign to check the spread of the disease and to stamp it out was 
immediately begun by the United States Department of Agriculture 
in cooperation with the State authorities. Quarantines against the 
movement of animals and certain materials from the infected areas 



FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 387 

were declared, shipments were traced, rumors investigated, and 
thorough inspections made in an effort to discover all infected stock. 
As measures of eradication, diseased herds were slaughtered and 
buried and the premises disinfected. The owners of live stock and 
other property destroyed on account of the disease were reimbursed 
to the extent of the appraised value, half of which is paid by the 
Federal Government and half by the State. There were slaughtered 
172.593 animals (76,575 cattle, 86,492 swine, 9,511 sheep, 133 goats, 
and 9 deer), in 3,182 herds. The total appraised value of these 
animals was more than $5,800,000. The expense to the Federal Gov- 
ernment of eradicating this outbreak was about $1,540,000. 

Symptoms. — In three to six days, or even longer, after the exposure 
of the animal to the infection the disease makes its appearance. It is 
usually first indicated by the animal suffering from a chill, quickly 
followed by an invasion of fever, which may cause the temperature to 
rise as high as 106° F. These symptoms are not always present, or 
may be in so slight a form as to escape notice. Following this in one 
or two daj^s it will be noticed that small vesicles or blisters about the 
size of hemp seeds or a pea are making their appearance upon the 
mucous membrances of the mouth at the border and upper surface 
of the tongue near the tip, the inside of the cheeks, on the gums and 
the inner surface of the lips, or on the margin of the dental pad. 
These little blisters contain a yellowish, watery fluid and gradually 
become more extensive as the disease advances. Soon after the erup- 
tions have appeared in the mouth of the animal considerable swelling, 
redness, and tenderness will be noticed about the feet, at the coronet, 
and between the digits of each foot. A day or two later eruptions 
similar to those within the mouth make their appearance upon these 
swollen regions of the foot, and at this stage it is usual to find that 
like lesions have made their appearance upon the perineum of the 
victim. In the case of milch cows the udder, and more particularly 
the teats, show the same vesicular eruption, but the latter as the 
result of milking soon become covered with reddened spots deprived 
of the superficial layer of skin and may develop deep, obstinate 
fissures. 

As soon as the disease has become well established the patient 
evinces pain when attempting to eat; in fact, the appetite is often 
so seriously affected that all feed is refused, and the animal uneasily 
opens and shuts its mouth with a characteristic smacking sound, 
Avhile strings of cohesive, ropy saliva hang suspended from the 
lips. With the advance of the disease the vesicles widen and extend 
until they may reach a diameter ranging from that of a dime to that 
of a silver dollar. These rupture soon after their appearance, some- 
times on the first day, more rarely on the second or third day. After 
they have ruptured, the grayish- white membrane forming the blister 



388 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

may remain attached for a day or more, or disappear speedily and 
leave deeply reddened, sensitive spots or erosions, both within the 
mouth and upon the coronet and between the claws of the feet. 
Similar erosions, which quickly form scabs, as a rule, may be noticed 
in cases in which the teats of milch cows have become affected, and 
instances are reported in wirich sloughing of the tegument imme- 
diately around the lesions upon the udder has occurred. Owing to 
the tough, fibrous nature of the bovine skin, it is exceedingly rare 
for sloughing to occur upon any part of the body other than those 
mentioned. 

The attack upon the feet of an animal is frequently manifested in 
all four feet at once, but one or more of the feet may entirely escape 
and remain unaffected throughout the course of the disease. The 
ulceration of the interdigital tissue may extend to the ligaments 
of the fetlock or produce disease of the joint or bone. As the feet 
become sensitive and sore the animal persistently lies down, and it 
has been found that bedsores develop with amazing rapidity in all 
such cases and wholly baffle all attempts at treatment until after the 
patient has regained its feet. 

The disease may attack some of the internal organs before it ap- 
pears upon any of the external tissues. These cases are very liable 
to prove quickly fatal. The animal dies from paralysis of the heart, 
due to the formation of poisonous principles within the system; it 
may suffocate by reason of the action of these same poisons upon the 
tissues of the lungs, or it may choke to death as a result of paralysis 
of the throat. 

In cases of serious affection of the udder the erosions will often be 
found within the passages of the teats, resulting in a " caked " udder, 
and the same toxic poisoning which is the cause of death in the 
apoplectiform types just mentioned may arise from this source. In 
any event the milk from such cases is dangerous for use, causing 
fatal diarrhea in sucking calves or young pigs and serious illness in 
human consumers. The milk obtained from cows suffering with 
foot-and-mouth disease is not readily converted into either butter or 
cheese, but remains thick, slimy, and inert in spite of churning and 
attempts at curdling. Pregnant animals may abort. In pigs,, sheep, 
and goats the lesions in the foot are most common, but both forms 
may be observed or only the mouth lesions. 

When the disease has become fully established it will be found that 
the duration of the attack will vary greatly with different animals. 
From 10 to 20 days are usually required for the recovery of the 
normal appetite and spirits in mild outbreaks, while the return to a 
full flow of milk, in the case of milch cows, seldom occurs before 
the arrival of the following season. 



FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 389 

In the malignant type - of the disease it requires from three months 
to a year for an animal to recover. The mortality, as already stated, 
is usually low. The disease is more fatal in young animals that have 
been fed on infected milk, and produces death in from 60 to 80 per 
cent of these cases as a result of gastroenteritis. In the 1914 outbreak 
numerous new centers of infection started among hogs and calves 
which were fed on unpasteurized, infected milk from creameries. 

Diagnosis. — The recognition of this affection should not, as a rule, 
be difficult, especially when the disease is known to be in the vicinity ; 
in fact, the group of symptoms form a clinical picture too decided to 
be doubted. The combination of high fever, vesicular inflammation 
of the mouth, and hot, painful, swollen condition of the feet, followed 
24 to 48 hours later by the appearance of numerous blisters varying 
in size from that of a pea to that of a walnut on the udder and feet 
and in the mouth should prevent any serious or long-continued error 
in the diagnosis ; however, in the inoculation of calves we have a cer- 
tain and final test. In 24 to 96 hours after inoculation the calves 
present the characteristic blisters. Such inoculation should be prac- 
ticed, however, only by officials properly authorized to deal with 
contagious diseases. 

Differential diagnosis. — The lesions of no other disease of cattle 
closely simulate the vesicular eruption of foot-and-mouth disease on 
the lining membrane of the mouth. When the blisters have ruptured, 
however, and the resulting lesions have become contaminated by 
numerous secondary forms of microorganisms, the correct recogni- 
tion of the disease may be involved in considerable difficulty. 

Cowpox or horsepox may be accidentally transmitted by inocula- 
tion. But the eruption of the " pox " goes on to the development of 
a pustule, while in foot-and-mouth disease the eruption is never 
more than a vesicle, even though the contained fluid may become 
turbid. The inoculation test in the case of cowpox does not respond 
with fever and eruption for at least 10 days, and often longer. 

Necrotic stomatitis (sore mouth due to a germ) may be distin- 
guished from foot-and-mouth disease by the fact that in the latter 
there is a rapid infection of the entire herd, including the adult 
cattle, as well as the infection of hogs and sheep. The characteristic 
lesion of foot-and-mouth disease is the appearance of blisters con- 
taining a serous fluid upon the mucous membrane of the mouth and 
upon the udder, teats, and feet of the affected animals. In necrotic 
stomatitis blisters are never formed, destruction of the tissues oc- 
curring from the beginning and being followed by the formation of 
yellowish, cheesy patches, principally found involving the lining* 
membrane of the mouth, especially the tongue and cheeks. 

In mycotic stomatitis (sore mouth due to a fungus or mold), por- 
tions of the lining membrane become inflamed and in a few days it 



390 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

changes to a croupous membrane which peels off, leaving a raw sur- 
face, while the thin skin between the toes may also be inflamed. The 
previous history of the case ; the failure of the blisters, if any appear, 
to spread extensively; the absence of vesicular eruptions on other 
portions of the body, notably the udder and teats, and, characteris- 
tically, the hoof, together with the absence of rapid spread to prac- 
tically all cattle in the herd and the complete negative character of 
inoculation of calves, distinguishes between the local disease named 
and foot-and-mouth disease. Mycotic stomatitis occurs in only from 
10 to 50 per cent of the animals in a herd, usually in the late summer 
or early fall after a dry spell, and it does not run a regular course. 

The lesion resulting from ergotism may be distinguished from 
those of foot-and-mouth disease by the lack of eruptions in the mouth 
and by the location of the disease at the tips of the ears, end of the 
tail, or upon the lower part of the legs, usually below the knees or 
hocks. The lesion of ergotism does not take the form of pustules or 
blisters, but manifests itself first as a swelling about the ankle, which 
later may slough and circumscribe the limb, forming a deep crack, 
extending entirely around the limb and forming a distinct line of 
demarcation between the healthy skin above and the diseased below. 
The absence of ulcerous sores on the coronet and between the claws, 
together with the healthy condition of the membranes of the mouth 
and the knowledge that the lesion upon the limb in question extends 
uninterruptedly around it, should point conclusively to a diagnosis of 
ergotism and to the exclusion of all fears of foot-and-mouth disease. 

In foul foot or ground itch of cattle, the inflammation of the skin 
and toes is general and not in certain spots, as in foot-and-mouth 
disease. The mouth remains unaffected, and the presence of the dis- 
ease may be traced to filth and poor drainage. 

The severer forms of the disease might be confounded with certain 
general diseases. If gastrointestinal symptoms predominate, acute 
gastric catarrh or inflammation of the intestines might be thought 
of. Involvement of the lungs may lead to a diagnosis of acute con- 
gestion of the lungs or pneumonia. The distinction is apparent in 
these diseases by the lack of vesicular eruption on the mucous mem- 
brane or skin, and also by lack of evidences of infection in the herd 
or neighboring animals. 

Prevention and eradication. — The measures to be adopted to pre- 
vent the spread of the affection must take into consideration the 
highly infectious nature of the disease, its ease of dissemination, 
and the liability of the virus to live for long periods outside the body 
of an animal. Great care should therefore be observed in keeping 
healthy animals unexposed to the contagion. When an outbreak 
occurs in a community the owner should make every effort to keep 
other animals from coming in contact with his diseased cattle. This 



FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 891 

especially applies to dogs, cats, goats, and poultry, which usually 
have access to the stables and barnyards and in this way furnish 
excellent means for disseminating the infectious principle. He 
should be equally particular in prohibiting any person from coming 
onto his premises, especially an attendant or owner or other person 
in any way connected with cattle. Such a herd may be placed under 
quarantine, with an inspector appointed to keep the premises under 
constant surveillance. 

This method of quarantine alone, while very satisfactory in many 
instances, is rather tardy in obtaining the desired result. The 
experience of European Governments already mentioned shows that 
eradication by this method alone, when the disease has obtained a 
foothold, is practically impossible. For this reason, when the disease 
breaks out in a country like the United States, where the contagion 
is likely to spread rapjdly by means of infected cars, manure, hay, 
and other feed, and where the results of its obtaining a firm foothold 
would be so disastrous, it seems that this method of temporizing is 
rather tedious, and more radical steps are required in order to sup- 
press and eradicate completely the infection in the quickest and most 
thorough manner possible. 

It would therefore appear better, after judicious appraisement, 
to concentrate the expense incident to the extermination of foot- 
and-mouth disease by purchasing and slaughtering all affected and 
exposed cattle. The carcasses of these animals should be totally 
destroyed, preferably by cremation, or otherwise by burying them 
in a hole 6 feet deep and covering them with air-slaked lime. The 
infected stable should be disinfected by thoroughly cleaning it, 
scrubbing the floor with hot water, brushing down all loose dust 
from the walls, and tearing off all woodwork which is partly de- 
cayed. Then the whole interior of the stable should be disinfected 
with one of the following substances: 

A 5 per cent solution of pure carbolic acid. 

Chlorid of lime, U. S. P. strength (30 per cent available chlorin), 
1 pound to 3 gallons of water. 

Formaldehyde, 1 quart 40 per cent solution to 5 gallons of water. 

A 3 per cent solution of cresol compound, U. S. P., or accepted 
substitute therefor, containing at least 50 per cent cresylic acid. 

All stable utensils should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected 
by the application of a solution of one of the above-named dis- 
infectants. The manure should be burned or disinfected and spread 
over ground (other than meadow land) that is to be turned under. 
No other cattle should be purchased for at least sixty days after 
the complete disinfection of the premises. 

The success in eradicating the disease by combined quarantine, 
slaughter, and disinfection, as practiced in the United States, Den- 



392 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

mark, Great Britain, and a few other countries, demonstrates in a 
striking manner the efficacy of slaughtering and the futility of rely- 
ing upon quarantine alone to stamp out the disease. 

Inoculation has been adopted in some countries in order to have 
the disease spread quickly through the herds, and while this practice 
has undoubted value where the disease is indigenous, it is not de- 
sirable in this country and should not be adopted. 

As a rule medicinal treatment with a view of curing affected ani- 
mals is not to be recommended under conditions prevailing in the 
United States, where the disease has not become established, and the 
first object is to stamp it out as quickly as possible. Even though 
most animals would recover, with or without treatment, it would be 
practically impossible, while they were being held for recovery, to 
prevent the spread of the infection to others. The disease would 
be liable to spread faster than it could be cured. As already pointed 
out, it has been found impossible to prevent absolutely the spread 
of the contagion by the strictest quarantine alone, under the usual 
farm conditions. In addition, the affected animals that have passed 
through the disease may become a source of further infection as 
virus carriers for weeks and months after they have apparently re- 
covered, and are susceptible of reinfection, as one attack does not 
confer permanent immunity. 

Foot-and-mouth disease in man. — Foot-and-mouth disease is pri- 
marily and principally a disease of cattle; secondarily and casually, 
a disease of man. It is transmissible to man through the eating or 
drinking of raw milk, buttermilk, butter, cheese, and whey from 
animals suffering from foot-and-mouth disease. It is also trans- 
mitted directly, though more rarely, from the salivary secretions or 
other infected material which may gain entrance through the mucous 
membrane of the mouth. It is doubtful whether the disease can be 
transmitted to man by cutaneous or subcutaneous inoculation, though 
it is probable that the infection may be communicated if the virus 
directly enters the blood through wounds of any kind. Children 
are not infrequently infected by drinking unboiled milk during the 
periods in which the disease is prevalent in the neighborhood, while 
persons in charge of diseased animals may become infected through 
contact with the diseased parts or by milking, slaughtering, or caring 
for the animals. 

The symptoms in man resemble those observed in animals. There 
is fever, sometimes vomiting, painful swallowing, heat and dryness 
of the mouth, followed by an eruption of vesicles on the mucous 
membrane of the mouth, and very rarely by similar ones on the 
fingers. The vesicles appear on the lips, gums, cheek, and edge of 
the tongue, and are about the size of a pea. The vesicles soon rup- 
ture, leaving a small erosion which is soon covered by a thin crust 



SEPTICEMIA AND PYEMIA. 393 

under which the new formation of epithelium proceeds rapidly. 
The skin eruption mostly appears on the hands, tips of the fingers, 
base of the nails, and more seldom on the toes and other parts of the 
body. Besides these local changes, during the course of the disease 
headache, pain in the limbs, vertigo, abdominal cramps, vomiting, 
diarrhea, and weakness are occasionally observed. The disease is 
seldom fatal, usually appearing in a very mild form except in weak- 
ened children, in whom an accompanying intestinal catarrh may 
lead to a fatal termination. 

Veterinarians who have had considerable experience with the dis- 
ease among animals regard the human affection as by no means un- 
common in countries where foot-and-mouth disease prevails, but 
the disturbance of health is usually too slight to come to the notice 
of the family physician. 

But few outbreaks of the disease in man have occurred in the 
United States, and therefore cases of its transmission to man in 
this country are rather rare. Dr. James Law reports having ob- 
served the disease in man from drinking infected milk during the 
epizootic of 1870 in the Eastern States, but the outbreaks of 1880 
and 1881 affected such a small number of animals and were so 
quickly suppressed that no instance of its transmission to man was 
recorded. A few cases have been reported by Brush accompanying 
the New England outbreak of 1902. Similar reports have been like- 
wise received concerning the appearance of vesicular eruptions in 
the mouths of children during the 1908 and 1911 outbreaks, and the 
history of these cases incriminates the milk supply. 

Experiments by Loeffler and Froesch, as well as recent experiments 
which have been made in Denmark and Germany, indicate that the 
infection is comparatively easy to destroy by heat or the usual anti- 
septics. Milk pasteurized at a temperature of 60° C. for 20 minutes 
is safe so far as infection by foot-and-mouth disease is concerned. 

SEPTICEMIA AND PYEMIA. 

These two names are applied to diseased conditions which are so 
nearly alike in their symptoms that it is sometimes difficult to distin- 
guish the one from the other. Indeed, the name pyosepticemia, or 
septicopyemia, is often applied when it is impossible to make a dis- 
tinction between septicemia and pyemia or where each is equally 
responsible for the diseased condition. The name septicemia is de- 
rived from two Greek Avords meaning " poison " and " blood," and 
signifies that the germ lives in the blood, hence the use of the term 
" blood poisoning " for this disease. Pyemia is likewise derived from 
two Greek words, meaning " pus " and " blood," and is that form of 
septicemia caused by pus-producing organisms and characterized by 
secondarv abscesses. 



394 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Causes. — Neither of these diseases is brought about, strictly speak- 
ing, by any specific organism ; hence neither can be looked upon as a 
specific disease. The organisms most frequently found in cases of 
septicemia are, on the whole, the same as those of pyemia, and may 
be pus cocci, the bacillus coli, or other pus-producing organisms. 
These organisms are often found as secondary invaders in other dis- 
eases, such as advanced cases of tuberculosis, in which cases they are 
responsible for the formation of pus. 

Aside from the causative organism, or, in other words, the active 
cause, there are many secondary causes. The most important of these 
in pyemia is a break in continuity of the protective covering, as a 
wound, which affords an entrance into the tissues for the organisms. 
Among the different varieties of wounds may be mentioned cuts, 
bruises, punctures, burns, chemical or frozen wounds, and compound 
fractures of bones. Injuries received during parturition, stoppage 
of the milk ducts, and infection of the umbilicus in the newly born 
are also frequent causes of pyemia. Septicemia usually follows sur- 
gical wounds, local suppuration, enteritis, bronchitis — in fact, wher- 
ever there is a local lesion of any kind permitting germs to enter the 
blood. Septicemia was formerly applied to designate the condition 
in which the organisms were localized, but in which their toxins were 
diffused in the blood. Pyemia was made to represent that condition 
when the organisms were localized, but in which the pus was trans- 
ported by the blood. These terms now are applied to conditions in 
which both the organisms and their toxins, or the pus, are present 
in the blood. The term septicemia is indicated when intoxication 
is the more pronounced symptom and pyemia if pus formation and 
metastatic or secondary abscess formation are observed. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms of both diseases include primarily a 
high fever (104° to 107° F.). Coupled with this there is disinclina- 
tion to move, the animal is depressed and not cognizant of its sur- 
roundings. The pulse is rapid, small, and feeble, respiration in- 
creased, mucous membrane injected, swollen, and of a yellowish 
tinge. Appetite is lost and death follows in the case of septicemia in 
from two to four days. In pyemia the symptoms come on more 
slowly and are not so intense as in septicemia, while the course of the 
disease is longer, lasting from six days to four weeks. The mortality 
is not so great as in septicemia, but the period of convalescence is 
always long. 

Lesions. — Septicemia is characterized by the destructive changes 
in the blood, which is chocolate colored, noncoagulable, and swarms 
with bacteria. The lining membranes of the heart are studded with 
red spits, often running together to form a large hemorrhagic area. 
The lungs, liver, and kidneys may also show these hemorrhages. 
The spleen is enlarged and full of black blood. The cadaver de- 



HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA. 395 

composes very rapidly and in some cases forms great quantities of 
fetid gas. In pyemia, in addition to these lesions, abscesses are 
formed in the various organs throughout the body. If the disease 
develops slowly a post-mortem examination shows the abscesses to be 
the chief alterations. The pus content is usually greenish, stained 
with blood, and contains strings of fibrous tissue and necrosed matter. 
Treatment. — Treatment is almost futile in advanced cases of either 
disease. Septicemia is usually fatal and pyemia frequently so. Pre- 
vention and the immediate treatment of local infections are the 
surest means of combating them. For local treatment of Avounds 
the usual antiseptics are indicated, such as 3 per cent compound 
cresol or carbolic acid, or one one-thousandth bichlorid-of-mercury 
solution. For pyemia, where the abscesses are near the skin, they 
should be opened and treated antiseptically by injecting any of the 
previously mentioned germicides. General and heart stimulants are 
indicated, such as a drench containing digitalis 2 drams and alcohol 
2 ounces. Quinin and calomel in repeated small doses of one-half 
dram each three times a day are sometimes beneficial. Camphor in 
the form of oil of camphor (camphor dissolved in 10 parts of sweet 
oil) is a good stimulant and has some antiseptic properties, which 
make it a valuable drug in combating these diseases when it is given 
in doses of 2 drams three times daily. 

HEMORRHAGIC SEPTICEMIA. 

Hemorrhagic septicemia is a name applied to a highly fatal, infec- 
tious disease existing in various species of domestic and wild animals, 
from a microorganism having definite biological characters and 
possessing the properties of producing clearly defined and charac- 
teristic lesions. 

This causal agent, Bacterium bovisepticum, belongs to the same 
group of cocco-bacilli as those causing chicken cholera, swine plague, 
and rabbit septicemia, and may be described as an ovoid, nonmotile, 
polar-staining bacterium with rounded ends, 3g ^ 00 of an inch wide by 
•2 ooo of an inch long, sometimes seen in pairs and sometimes in 
chains. 

Various names have been applied to this disease, and though the 
causative agent and the distinctive lesions are well known, it is more 
than likely that the affection is seldom recognized. It was described 
by Bollinger in 1878, and named Wild und Einderseuche, from its 
having affected deer, wild boars, cattle, and horses in an epizootic 
which swept over Germany at that time. Before this, however, sev- 
eral epizootics of what was evidently the same disease had been well 
described, notably that which occurred in England in 1854. Since 
then it has occurred in epizootic and enzootic forms in many sections 



396 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. In this country the disease 
has been observed in Texas, Tennessee, New York, Minnesota, Penn- 
sylvania, District of Columbia, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Other 
names given to it are game and cattle disease, buffalo disease, bar- 
bone, pasteurellosis bovina, ghotwa, and infectious pneumoenteritis. 

In earlier times it was evidently confounded with gloss anthrax, 
and even now it is probably mistaken in a great many instances for 
anthrax, blackleg, cornstalk disease, and cerebrospinal meningitis. 

The disease is essentially a septicemia, or blood poisoning, and the 
microbic invasion occurs from inoculation probably either through 
abrasions of the skin or by injury to the mucous membranes from 
coarse fodder, etc. Moore and Smith have found in the mouths and 
nasal cavities of healthy animals, including cattle, bacteria belong- 
ing to this group; but these organisms proved to be nonpathogenic. 
As is well known, however, many pathogenic germs at times exist in 
a saprophytic state, and it is not hard to conceive how a microbe may 
cease such existence and assume parasitic or pathogenic properties 
when the surroundings are eminently favorable. This may be a 
connecting link in the etiology of sporadic outbreaks of the disease 
in which all other hypotheses as to its genesis seem untenable. The 
disease seems to occur most frequently in swampy or mucky locali- 
ties or in pastures receiving the overflow from infected fields. It is 
said to occur usually in the spring of the year, when the melting 
snows and rains bring to the surface the subterranean waters from 
rich soils containing nitrogenous materials in which the bacteria 
have been existing. In a great many instances there does not seem 
to be any plausible explanation for an outbreak of the disease and 
one can only surmise as to its origin. 

Symptoms. — Three forms of the disease are recognized, based upon 
the distribution of the lesions — the superficial, or cutaneous, the pec- 
toral, or thoracic, and the intestinal form. The latter is a usual 
accompaniment of the other two and may be mild or severe. Natu- 
rally the symptoms vary according to the violence of the attack and 
to the particular form of disease with which the animal is affected. 
In the superficial, or cutaneous, form the presence of a swollen tongue, 
throat, and dewlap, or even of the lower portion of the legs, gives us 
a clew to the trouble. An entire loss of appetite occurs, and in milch 
cows there is a diminution of the milk secretion. The temperature 
may be only slightly elevated, but it is usually very high. Salivation 
is set up by the inflammation of the mouth and pharynx. Unsuc- 
cessful efforts at eating and swallowing are made. There may be 
difficulty in breathing, depending on the amount of involvement of 
the larynx, trachea, bronchi, or lungs. There may be a blood-stained 
discharge from the nostrils, and the mucous membrane thereof will 
often show punctiform hemorrhages. The pulmonary form shows 



HEMOEEHAGIC SEPTICEMIA. 397 

the same symptoms as croupous pneumonia, with a frequent suffo- 
cative cough and oppressed breathing, or dyspnea. When the in- 
testines are involved the patient strains to defecate, and passes shreds 
of intestinal mucus along with blood-stained feces. The urine also 
may be tinged with blood. Finally a severe diarrhea takes place, the 
animal becomes correspondingly weak, and death takes place in 24 
to 36 hours. Cases may die in as short a period as six to eight hours, 
while in the pectoral form of the disease the animal may linger six 
or eight days. Cases have been reported which became chronic and 
in which death did not take place for a month or more. In some of 
the cases running an acute course, symptoms of toxemia are present; 
there is a lack of sensation of the skin, staggering gait, trembling, 
eyes fixed, neck at times bent to one side, and the eyes showing a wild 
expression. At times the animals appear as if in pain and look 
around at the flanks. In the pectoral form they may stand with the 
forelegs wide apart in evident effort to breathe more freely. Some- 
times there is a champing of the jaws and a very free flow of glairy 
saliva dropping from the mouth. 

The prognosis is decidedly unfavorable and 80 to 90 per cent of 
the cases result fatally. 

Lesians. — The characteristic lesions of hemorrhagic septicemia con- 
sist of hemorrhagic areas in the subcutaneous, subserous, and muscu- 
lar tissues, the lymph glands, and the viscera ; in fact, they are 
distributed more or less widely throughout the body and vary in size 
from a mere speck to the diameter of a half dollar or even larger. 
The superficial form presents itself first as a doughy tumefaction of 
the skin about the region of the throat, neck, dewlap, or legs, which 
pits on pressure. This tumefaction consists essentially of a eero- 
gelatinous exudate into the subcutaneous and intermuscular tissues. 

Bloody extravasations may take place in subcutaneous tissues in 
various places, but they are usually seen about the lower portion 
of the neck. The mucous membranes and submucous tissues of the 
mouth, tongue, pharynx, and larynx become involved in the process 
and are greatly thickened, inflamed, and infiltrated with serum. The 
mucous membrane becomes reddish purple, and that of the nostrils 
may in addition show hemorrhagic spots on its surface. The lym- 
phatic glands in this region are also swollen and infiltrated with 
bloody serum. The salivary glands are pale and dry. The pectoral 
type, though at times existing alone, may coexist with the cutaneous 
form. The inflammatory edema of the mouth extends to the mucous 
membrane of the trachea and bronchi, producing an extensive thick- 
ening and a yellowish infiltration. The lung shows interstitial thick- 
ening from the outpouring of serum into its meshes. It may become 
pneumonic. 



398 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

The diaphragm, heart sac, and heart walls show numerous hemor- 
rhagic points and larger bloody extravasations. Sometimes there is 
a serous pleurisy, with more or less fibrinous exudate. In the intes- 
tinal form the submucous and subperitoneal tissues show alterations 
from a few hemorrhagic spots to large bloody suffusions, or even 
gelatinous infiltrations. This latter is seen about the region of the 
pancreas and in the folds of the mesentery. There is a severe hemor- 
rhagic inflammation of the intestines and a staining of the intestinal 
contents with blood. The muscular system throughout shows hemor- 
rhagic areas. The abdominal viscera, liver, spleen, and kidneys often 
present hemorrhagic lesions. 

Differential diagnosis. — Anthrax, which presents superficial swell- 
ings, like hemorrhagic septicemia, may be distinguished from that 
affection on post-mortem examination by the enlargement and en- 
gorgement of the spleen, the contents of which are soft and tarry. 
The blood of anthrax animals is very dark, and does not become light 
red on exposure to air, nor does it coagulate, while in hemorrhagic 
septicemia the blood is normal in appearance and coagulates. The 
detection of the anthrax bacillus in the blood would be final. 

In blackleg the animals affected are usually under 2 years of age. 
The swellings are quite evident, and usually occur on the legs, above 
the knees or hocks, and are distended with gas, which crackles, or 
crepitates, when pressed upon. If one of these tumors is opened, 
a bloody serum will exude, and the gas gives off the odor of rancid 
butter., The internal hemorrhages are not general, although they 
may occur. A microscopic examination of the juices from the tume- 
faction will show the blackleg bacillus. 

In cerebrospinal meningitis the causative agent is unknown, but 
probably exists in the feed. It may occur in any locality and at any 
season of the year. There are no local swellings, and cattle are not 
frequently affected. 

Cornstalk disease may be differentiated from this affection from 
the fact that it always occurs after the cattle are turned into a corn- 
stalk field, by its sudden onset, the absence of any characteristic 
symptoms or post-mortem lesions, and the failure to find the causative 
agent in the blood. 

In making a post-mortem examination of animals affected with 
hemorrhagic septicemia, it would be well to examine the articular 
surfaces of the long bones, as it has been reported that they are fre- 
quently ulcerated. This should apply especially to those cases that 
have shown lameness. 

Treatment. — Treatment is absolutely useless, so far as we know at 
present, and for all practical purposes prophylaxis alone should be 
relied upon. The same sanitary precautions, such as isolation, dis- 
infection, and burial or burning of all dead carcasses, should be 



VESICULAR ERUPTION OF THE GENITAL ORGANS. 399 

observed as for anthrax and other highly infectious diseases. All 
the premises, barns, stalls, litter, and stable utensils should be 
thoroughly disinfected. Separate the apparently well animals from 
the sick by placing them in a separate lot. 

Experiments by the Bureau of Animal Industry toward protective 
inoculation of the exposed cattle on infected premises have been made 
and the results have been so satisfactory that commercial houses 
handling biological products are now manufacturing a vaccine for 
hemorrhagic septicemia in accordance with the Government's experi- 
ments on this subject. The method of preparing the vaccine is simi- 
lar to that recommended by Lignieres. It consists in growing the 
cultures of the organism of the disease at 42 to 43° C. and preparing 
from them growing at this temperature two different strengths of 
vaccine. The weaker vaccine, which is used for the first injection, 
is grown for five days at this temperature, whereas the stronger 
vaccine, for the second injection, is grown for only two days. These 
vaccines are used with an interval of 10 days between the injections, 
the dose being 1 cubic centimeter at each injection. The effect of 
this vaccine in abating outbreaks already in progress has been highly 
satisfactory and it is plain that the general introduction of preventive 
vaccination for hemorrhagic septicemia must be of material benefit 
to the cattle raisers in the infected districts. 

VESICULAR ERUPTION OF THE GENITAL ORGANS. 

This contagious disease is called coital exanthema or vesicular 
exanthema, and is more or less prevalent on the Continent. It has 
also been observed in the breeding districts of the United States It 
is the subject of legislation in Germany, and governmental statistics 
are published annually concerning its distribution in the Empire. 
According to the reports from Hungary 492 head of cattle were 
attacked during 1898, 587 in 1899, and 207 in 1900. 

A similar or perhaps identical disease of horses has the same dis- 
tribution and is transmissible from horses to cattle and vice versa. 

The disease may be denned as a highly contagious eruption situated 
upon the external genital organs of both sexes and accompanied with 
little or no general disturbance of health. The contagion, the nature 
of which remains still unknown, is transmitted mainly during copula- 
tion. The bull may have the disease and convey it to all the cows 
with which he comes in contact, or he may become infected by one 
cow, and, although not showing the disease, he may, during copula- 
tion, transmit it for several days after to all other cows. Simple 
contact between one cow and another may convey the disease, or the 
sponges used in cleaning the diseased may carry the virus to the 
healthy. It has also been conveyed to healthy cows by these animals 
lying with their hind quarters against infected wooden troughs. 



400 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Symptoms. — The period between the infection and the appearance 
of symptoms is someAvhat variable. It is usually given as three to 
six days. It may be briefer or much longer. In cows the mucous 
membrane of the vagina and the vulva become swollen, inflamed, 
very tender, and covered with dark-red spots. The secretion is very 
abundant and consists at first largely of serum and mucus resem- 
bling the white of an egg. Small vesicles then appear, which rapidly 
burst and are converted into excoriations or deeper ulcerations. 
The secretion becomes more purulent and is apt to dry in crusts 
about the root of the tail. The eruption is accompanied with much 
itching and difficult} 7 in urinating. The walk may be stiff and awk- 
ward. In bulls the eruption is situated on the prepuce and the end 
of the penis, and consists of pimples, vesicles, and ulcers, as in 
cows. It is accompanied with a little purulent discharge from the 
prepuce, itching, and difficulty in urinating. In severe cases the 
inflammation and swelling may extend backward to the scrotum and 
forward upon the abdomen. 

The disease lasts from one to four weeks and always terminates in 
recovery. The acute stage lasts only four or five days, while the 
complete healing of the inflammation is slow. The eruption is usu- 
ally accompanied with very little general disturbance. If the pain 
and irritation are severe, there may be some light loss of appetite and 
diminished milk secretion in cows. The disease rarely causes abor- 
tion. Chronic catarrh of the vagina and permanent sterility fre- 
quently follow as sequela?. 

Treatment need not be resorted to excepting in severe cases. The 
secretion and exudation should be washed off and a mild antiseptic 
applied, such as a 1 per cent solution of carbolic acid (1 ounce to 3 
quarts of water) or 2 per cent solution of cresol compound in water. 
Care must be taken not to carry the disease from the sick to the well 
by sponges, etc., which have come in contact with the affected organs. 
These should be destroyed. To prevent the spread of the disease the 
infected animals should be kept isolated until they have recovered. 

RABIES OF CATTLE. 

Rabies is a disease preeminently affecting the canine race, although 
all warm-blooded animals, including man, are susceptible to the mal- 
ady, which is always communicated through bites from a preceding 
case. It has required many years of patient, scientific research to 
lead the ablest investigators to a clear comprehension of the cause, 
nature, and characteristics of this affection. It was known and de- 
scribed several centuries prior to the beginning of the Christian era, 
and from the earliest dawn of history it has been feared and dreaded. 
Its terrible manifestations have always been surrounded with an 



EABIES. 401 

atmosphere of awe and mystery, and it is not surprising that myths, 
fallacies, and misconceptions in regard to it have been common and 
widely accepted. As the investigations by which we have come to 
a tolerably clear understanding of the facts concerning rabies havs 
been comparatively recent, and for the most part, have appeared in 
scientific periodicals, fallacies in regard to the disease continue to 
have a strong hold upon the public mind. For instance, it is still a 
widely prevalent belief that if persons or animals are bitten by a 
dog they are liable to become rabid if the dog should contract the 
disease at any future time. There is no foundation for this impres- 
sion, and it would be a great comfort to many people who are now 
and then bitten by animals if the fallacy of this idea were known. 
All experience, both scientific and practical, goes to show that rabies 
is transmitted only by animals that are actually diseased at the time 
the bite is inflicted. Rabies is an infectious disease involving the 
nervous system and characterized by extreme excitability and other 
nervous disorders and always terminating in death. The contagion 
of this disease has never been isolated, but the fact that it is caused 
by a specific organism principally found in the nervous system is 
indisputable. For instance, if an emulsion of the brain of a rabid 
animal is filtered through a germ-proof filter, the filtrate will be 
harmless. This fact indicates that the infectious principle is not 
in solution, but is an organism withheld from the filtrate by the 
filter. This contagion can be propagated only in the body of an 
animal. It is transmitted naturally from one animal to another 
solely by bites, and the old idea of spontaneous appearance of the 
disease is absolutely fallacious. It may be produced artificially by 
inoculating susceptible animals with an emulsion of the brain or 
spinal cord, as well as the saliva, milk, and other secretions of the 
affected animal. The blood, on the contrary, seems to be free from 
the infectious principle. The saliva contains the virus, which, under 
natural conditions, is introduced into or under the skin on the tooth 
of the rabid animal. The disease is widespread, being found in 
many countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in certain sections 
of the United States. 

Owing to the rigid quarantine regulations enforced against dogs 
imported into Australia, that country remains absolutely free from 
the disease. Following the canine race, cattle seem to be the most 
frequently affected, probably because rabid dogs, next to their mor- 
bid desire to attack other members of their own race, have a better 
opportunity to bite grazing cattle than any other species of animal. 
The relative frequency of rabies in these two species of animals is 
indicated by the carefully compiled statistics of the German Empire, 
which shows that 904 dogs and 223 cows died of rabies in 1898, while 
33071°— 16 26 



402 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

in 1899 there were 911 cases in dogs and 171 in cattle. The latter 
receive bites most frequently on the hind legs and in the hips and 
about the lower jaw. These places are most accessible to dogs, owing 
to the habit of cattle to drive their tormentors away by lowering 
their heads and using their horns. Every animal bitten does not 
necessarily develop the disease, but the per cent of fatalities has 
been variously estimated, and averages from 25 to 30. This, how- 
ever, depends on the location and size of the wound as well as the 
amount of hemorrhage produced, and various other conditions. In 
general, the nearer the bite is located to the central nervous system 
and the deeper the wound inflicted, the greater the danger of a fatal 
result. In cases in which the hemorrhage resulting from the bite is 
profuse, there is a possibility that the virus will be washed out of 
the wound and thus obviate the danger of subsequent appearance of 
the disease. 

The virus after being deposited in the wound remains latent for an 
extremely variable period of time, which also depends on the size 
and depth of the wound as well as its location and the amount of 
the virulent saliva introduced. Experiments have proved that the 
virus follows the course of the nerves to the spinal cord and along 
the latter to the brain before the symptoms appear. Gerlach, having 
collected the statistics from. 133 cases, has found this time, known 
as the period of incubation, to vary from 14 to 285 days. The great 
majority of cases, however, contract the disease in one to three 
months after the bite has been inflicted. 

Symptoms. — As in dogs, both furious and dumb rabies are met 
with, the former being more common in cattle. A sharp line of 
distinction, however, can not be drawn between these two forms 
of the disease, as the furious form usually merges into the dumb, 
from the paralysis which appears prior to death. The typical cases 
of dumb rabies are those in which the paralysis appears at the begin- 
ning of the attack and remains until death. The disease first mani- 
fests itself by a loss of appetite and rumination, stopping of the 
secretion of milk, great restlessness, anxiety, manifestation of fear, 
and change in the disposition of the animal. This preliminary 
stage is followed in a day or two by the stage of excitation, or 
madness, which is indicated by increasing restlessness, loud roar- 
ing at times with a peculiar change in the sound of the voice, vio- 
lent butting with the horns and pawing the ground with the feet, 
with an insane tendency to attack other animals, although the 
desire to bite is not so marked in cattle as in the canine race. A 
constant symptom is the increased secretion of saliva with a con- 
sequent frothing at the mouth, or the secretion may hang from 
the lips in long strings. Constipation is marked, and there is mani- 
fested a continual, although unsuccessful, desire to defecate. 



E ABIES. 403 

Spasms of the muscles in different parts of the body are also seen 
at intervals. About the fourth day the animal usually becomes 
quieter and the walk is stiff, unsteady, and swaying, showing that 
the final paralysis is coming on. This is called the paralytic stage. 
The loss of flesh is extremely rapid, and even during the short 
course of the disease the animal becomes exceedingly emaciated. 
The temperature is never elevated, it usually remaining about nor- 
mal or even subnormal. Finally, there is complete paralysis of 
the hind quarters, the animal being unable to rise, and but for 
irregular convulsive movements lies in a comatose condition and 
dies usually from the fourth to the sixth day after the appearance 
of the first symptom. 

Anatomy. — If animals which have succumbed to rabies are ex- 
amined post mortem, very slight evidence of disease will be found 
in any of the organs, and, indeed, the absence of any specific lesions 
may be considered as characteristic. The blood is dark and imper- 
fectly coagulated. The throat is frequently reddened, and there, 
may be small spots of extravasated blood in the intestines. The 
stomachs are usually empty. In the spleen there may be hemor- 
rhagic enlargements (infarcts). The cadavers rapidly undergo 
decomposition. 

Differential diagnosis. — It is not an easy matter to decide definitely 
that a given animal has rabies, since the symptoms given above be- 
long in part to a variety of other diseases, among which may be men- 
tioned the excitement seen in young animals following close confine- 
ment, certain vegetable and mineral poisons, acute enteritis, and 
alterations of the central nervous system in cattle, the most common 
of which is tuberculosis of the brain and its covering membranes. 
The post-mortem lesions, however, should assist in making a correct 
diagnosis. Tetanus may readily be differentiated from rabies by the 
persistence of muscular cramps, especially of the face and abdomen, 
which cause these muscles to become set and as hard as wood. In 
tetanus there is also an absence of a depraved appetite or of a willful 
propensity to hurt other animals or to damage the surroundings. 
The cow remains quiet and the general muscular contraction gives 
her a rigid appearance. There is an absence of paralysis which 
marks the advanced stage of rabies. The form of dumb rabies in 
dogs is characterized by the paralysis and pendency of the lower 
jaw, while in tetanus the jaws are locked. This locking of the jaws 
in cattle renders the animal incapable of bellowing, as in rabies. 
Finally, tetanus may be distinguished from rabies by the fact that 
the central nervous system does not contain the infectious principle, 
while in rabies the inoculation of test rabbits with the brain or cord 
of a rabid animal will produce the disease with characteristc symp- 
toms after an interval of 15 to 20 days. This period of incubation 



404 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

is much longer than in tetanus, since the inoculation of rabbits with 
tetanus cultures invariably results in death after a short period and 
usually within three days. The positive evidence that a rabid dog 
has been near cattle would greatly assist in making a decision in 
doubtful cases. 

The disease in dogs is pretty well recognized by most people, but in 
case a suspected dog is killed it is desirable to open the animal and 
examine the contents of the stomach. While feed is absent, a variety 
of odd things may be present which the abnormally changed appetite 
of the rabid dog has induced it to swallow. Among such things may 
be straws, sticks, glass, rags, earth, pieces of leather, and whatever 
the animal may have encountered small enough to be swallowed. 
This miscellaneous collection in the stomach of dogs, together with 
absence of feed, is regarded by authorities as a very valuable sign, 
and in case of doubt may be made use of by laymen. In important 
cases, however, the head of the dog, cow, or other suspected animal 
should be removed and sent to the nearest biological laboratory, 
where a positive diagnosis can be made within 36 hours by the histo- 
logical examination of the plexiform nerve ganglia, and within two 
or three weeks by the intracerebral inoculation of rabbits with an 
emulsion of the brain of the suspected animal. 

Treatment. — This is useless after the first appearance of symptoms. 
When, however, a wound inflicted by a rabid animal can be discov- 
ered, it should be immediately cauterized or even completely extir- 
pated, care being taken to cut entirely around the wound in the 
healthy tissues. For cauterizing the wound, fuming nitric acid, the 
hot iron, and 10 per cent solution of zinc chlorid are the most effica- 
cious. To afford an absolute protection, this should be done within 
a few moments after the bite has been inflicted, although even as late 
as a few hours it has been known to thwart the development of the 
disease. 

Pasteur originated and perfected a system of preventive inocula- 
tion against this disease which has greatly reduced the mortality in 
human subjects. Its application to animals, however, is more diffi- 
cult, requiring considerable time and expense, and is therefore only 
economically applicable in cases in which very valuable animals are 
bitten by dogs known to be mad. Sanitary regulations which seek to 
control effectively the disease by exterminating it among dogs are 
most likely to prove successful. The measures which are adopted to 
this end can not be discussed in this place, but it is a striking fact 
that where the muzzling of all dogs has been rigidly enforced, as in 
England and in certain German districts, the disease has been prac- 
tically stamped out. 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 405 

TUBERCULOSIS. 

[Pis. XXXIV-XXXVIII.] 

Tuberculosis is an infectious and communicable disease charac- 
terized by the formation, in various organs of the body, of minute 
nodules or tubercles, which contain the Bacillus tuberculosis, the 
cause of the disease. 

The disease, in its various manifestations, has been known for 
many centuries, and legislative enactments having reference to the 
destruction of affected animals and forbidding the use of the flesh 
date far back into the Middle Ages. The opinions entertained re- 
garding the nature and the cause of the malady varied much in dif- 
ferent periods and very markedly influenced the laws and regula- 
tions in vogue. Thus, in the sixteenth century, the disease was con- 
sidered identical with syphilis in man. In consequence of this belief 
very stringent laws were enacted, which made the destruction of 
tuberculous cattle compulsory. In the eighteenth century this 
erroneous conception of the nature of the disease was abandoned 
and all restrictions against the use of meat were removed. Since 
that time, however, its communicable nature has been established by 
many investigators, and the tide of opinion has again turned in 
favor of repressing the disease and prohibiting the sale of con- 
taminated products. 

Occurrence. — The statistics concerning tuberculosis show that it is 
a disease prevalent in all civilized countries. In some countries, such 
as the northern part of Norway and Sweden, on the steppes of east- 
ern Europe and Eussia, in Sicily and Iceland, and in Algiers, it is 
said to be quite rare. 

The returns from testing British cattle with tuberculin, supplied 
by the Royal Veterinary College, as stated in March, 1900, showed 
that among 15,392 animals tested 4,105, or 26 per cent, reacted. 

During the slaughter of cattle for pleuropneumonia careful exami- 
nations of the carcasses were made for tuberculosis. Of 300 head 
killed near Edinburgh 120, or 40 per cent, were tuberculous. Of 
4,160 killed in England 20 per cent were tuberculous. Of one of 
these lots of cattle (451 animals) the president of the Lancashire 
Farmers' Association testified that they were fairly representative 
cattle — cows, heifers, and growing stock — a thoroughly mixed lot; 
20 per cent of them had tuberculosis. 

Of 398 bovine animals taken haphazard in the city of Manchester, 
120, or 30 per cent, were tuberculous. Among them were 168 cows, 
69, or 41 per cent, being tuberculous, and 2 having diseased udders. 

The result of testing the Queen's herd at Windsor was that 36 out 
of 40, or 90 per cent, were found tuberculous. 



406 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

The investigations made by the British Dairy Farmers' Association 
deserve particular attention, coming as they do directly from a cattle 
owners' organization. The council of this association " resolved to 
submit the general consideration of the question to a committee, with 
a view to some more definite understanding as to the possible extent 
to which tuberculosis exists in dairy cattle." The secretary was 
instructed to write to a number of dairy farmers being members of 
the association, asking their cooperation and the use of their herds 
for the application of the tests. Of the herds offered, 9 were selected, 
containing 461 cows and 12 bulls, and 188 of these animals reacted, 
being 40.8 per cent. There were among these cattle 335 Shorthorns, 
of which 119, or 35 per cent, reacted; 67 crossbreds, of which 28, or 
42 per cent, reacted ; 47 Ayrshires, of which 37, or 80 per cent, reacted. 

Another experiment of much interest is that of the Cheshire 
County Council. The technical instruction committee set aside £250 
to be used by a joint committee from the agricultural and horticul- 
tural schools and Worleson Dairy Institute for applying the tuber- 
culin test to their herds. The tests were made February 15, 1899. 
The results were : Worleson herd of 54 animals, 16 diseased, or 29.6 
per cent; agricultural school herd of 17 animals, 4 diseased, or 23.5 
per cent. The Worleson herd consisted of Shorthorn cows. In each 
herd the purebred Shorthorn bull was tuberculous. The results of 
the tuberculin test were confirmed by the slaughter of the animals 
and examination of the carcasses. 

Sir T. D. G. Carmichael, member of Parliament for Midlothian, 
gave evidence before the royal commission that his Polled Angus 
herd was tested in the spring of 1895. " The results of the test were 
fearfully unexpected and alarming." Of 30 tested 13 showed de- 
cided reaction — 43 per cent. Again, he speaks of having 41 animals 
tested the same spring and 16 reacted — 39.5 per cent. 

Of 80 Shorthorn cattle intended for export which were tested 34 
reacted, or 42 per cent. 

Of a herd of 25 British Shorthorns recently tested in quarantine 
40 per cent were found tuberculous. 

The addition of these animals above referred to gives 20,930 head 
examined and 5,441, or 26 per cent, pronounced tuberculous. And 
these herds were not selected because they were supposed to be tuber- 
culous, but represent the general cattle stock of the country. These 
animals included at least 470 head of Shorthorns, of which 170, or 34 
per cent, were tuberculous. 

To these facts may be added the evidence of Prof. Bang that 
in the first half of the nineteenth century tuberculosis was brought 
to Denmark by cattle from Switzerland, Schleswig, and England, 
and that the same thing is now going on in Sweden and Norway, 
particularly through English cattle. Also the evidence of M. Sivori, 



TUBERCULOSIS. 407 

chief of section at the ministry of agriculture, Argentina, who has 
investigated tuberculosis in that country and who says that " 30 or 
40 years ago tuberculosis was unknown in Argentine cattle, and it is 
still unknown among the native (criollo) cattle. Its appearance 
dates from the introduction of pure breeding animals. Statistics 
prove that tuberculosis is observed among the grades — above all 
among those of the Durham and less among the Hereford."' 

Moreover, the reports of the royal commission of Victoria, Aus- 
tralia, and of the New Zealand department of Agriculture show a 
large proportion of tuberculous cattle in those colonies, where the 
disease was almost certainly carried by British cattle. 

In the same manner that tuberculosis has been carried from Great 
Britain to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, and Australia, it 
has also been taken to Canada. In one herd of imported cattle 
slaughtered in the Canadian quarantine station, 13 of the 14 animals 
were found tuberculous. One of the largest Shorthorn herds in 
Canada was sometime ago tested because an animal from it was 
condemned when offered for shipment to the United States. This 
herd was found to be Aery badly affected, and an effort is being made 
to eradicate the disease by the Bang method. A Canadian official 
publication says of another Shorthorn herd, which at one time had a 
very high reputation, that when an investigation in regard to tuber- 
culosis was recently made the disease was found among ordinary 
cattle wherever animals from this herd had been introduced, and that 
this herd, which had been looked upon as one of the greatest benefits 
to the farming community, was really a danger, because it dissemi- 
nated tuberculosis among the farmers' herds. Still another well- 
known herd recently attracted attention because four animals from 
it offered for export to the United States were all tuberculous. 

From December 23, 1900, to February 19, 1901, the period that the 
department inspector tested all Canadian cattle intended for ship- 
ment to the United States, 140 purebred Shorthorns and 3 Shorthorn 
grades, were tested, and of the total number 26, or 18 per cent 
reacted. During the first month that this inspection was enforced, 
and when it may be assumed that the condition of the cattle most 
nearly represented what it had previously been, 74 cattle were offered 
for importation, and 18, or 24.3 per cent, were found tuberculous. 

In justice to Shorthorn cattle it should be said in this connection 
that they are probably no more susceptible to tuberculosis than are 
other breeds, but the disease has been allowed to spread in certain 
herds and families to such an extent as to give a wrong impression 
concerning the breed as a whole. 

The slaughterhouse statistics of Prussia show 14.6 per cent of the 
cattle and 2.14 per cent of the hogs to be tuberculous. In Saxony 
the percentage is 29.13 with cattle and 3.10 with hogs. In the city 



408 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



of Leipzig the figures are 36.4 for cattle and 2.17 for hogs. (Sieclam- 
grotzky.) Of 20,850 animals in Belgium tested with tuberculin in 
1896, 48.88 per cent reacted. (Stubbe.) Of 25,439 tested in Den- 
mark from 1893 to 1895, 49.3 per cent reacted ; and of 67,263 tested 
from 1896 to 1898, 32.8 per cent reacted. (Bang.) 

Figures available in the United States do not cover a sufficient area 
of our territory to allow us to make a reliable estimate of the extent 
of tuberculosis with milch cows. There is little doubt, however, but 
that the disease has been increasing both with dairy cattle and hogs. 
From a review by Russell and Hastings, of the Wisconsin Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, of tests of cattle for tuberculosis which 
have been made in the United States, the following summary is 
presented : 

Statistics of tests for tuberculosis in the United States. 



State. 



Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Massachusetts, entire herds. 

Connecticut 

New York, 1894 

New York, 1897-98 

Pennsylvania 

New Jersey 

Illinois, 1897-98 

Illinois, 1899 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Iowa 



Wisconsin: 

Experiment Station tests — 

Suspected herds - 

Nonsuspected herds 

State veterinarian's tests — 

Suspected herds 

Tests of local veterinarians under State veterinarian, cattle in- 
tended for shipment to States requiring tuberculin certificate.. 



Number 
tested. 



60,000 
24,686 

4,093 

6,300 
947 

1,200 
34,000 

2,500 
929 

3,655 



3,430 
873 



323 
935 



588 
3,421 



Number 
tubercu- 
lous. 



2,390 

12,443 

1,080 



66 

163 

4,800 



115 

84 



191 
76 



Per cent 
tubercu- 
lous. 



3.9 
50.0 
26.4 
14.2 

6.9 
18.4 
14.1 
21.4 
12.0 
15.32 
13.0 
11.1 
13.8 



35.6 
9.0 



32.5 
2.2 



Reports of tuberculin tests made on 400,000 cattle in the United 
States during the years 1893 to 1908 by Federal, State, and other 
officers with tuberculin prepared by the Bureau of Animal Industry 
show 37,008 reactions, or 9.25 per cent These were mostly dairy 
cattle, and in some cases herds were suspected of being diseased. 

All cattle in the District of Columbia, numbering 1,701, were tested 
with tuberculin in 1909-10, and 18.87 per cent reacted. In 1909-11 
herds in Maryland and Virginia supplying milk to the District of 
Columbia were tested, with 19.03 and 15.38 per cent of reactions, 
respectively, among 4,501 cattle. 



TUBERCULOSIS. 409 

The beef cattle of the United States show a much smaller propor- 
tion of the disease than dairy cattle, though the percentage of cattle 
found tuberculous in the Government meat-inspection service has 
increased considerably in recent years. This increase is due partly, 
but not wholly, to more stringent inspection. Of 7,781,030 adult 
cattle slaughtered under Federal inspection during the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1911, 76,418 were found tuberculous, a percentage 
of 0.98. 

It has been observed that tuberculosis increases in frequency with 
the age of the animals. If we take as the unit of comparison the 
number of cases of animals of a year and under affected with tuber- 
culosis, animals from 1 to 3 years old furnish 10 times, those 3 to 6 
years old 30 times, and those more than 6 years 40 times the number 
of cases. 

From the statistics above referred to, and other data, it appears 
that in the more densely populated areas of Europe and America 
from 5 to 50 per cent of the dairy cattle are more or less affected with 
tuberculosis, while the proportion of beef cattle affected is distinctly 
less, ranging from 0.14 to 30 per cent. This difference is due to a 
number of causes. Beef cattle average younger when slaughtered. 
They are not so frequently stabled, and are for that reason less liable 
to infection, and as the males constitute a large proportion of this 
class of animals the effect of milk secretion in lowering the vital 
forces is not so apparent. In the United States it has been estimated 
that about 10 per cent of the dairy cattle are tuberculous, while only 
about 2 per cent of the beef cattle are so infected. 

Cause and nature of the disease. — The cause of tuberculosis is the 
tubercle bacillus, which gains entrance to the body, lodges somewhere 
in the tissues, and begins to grow and multiply at that point. As this 
bacillus vegetates and increases in numbers it excretes substances 
which act as irritants and poisons and which lead to the formation of 
a small nodule, called a tubercle, at the point of irritation. As the 
bacilli are disseminated through the animal body they affect many 
points and cause the formation of an enormous number of tubercles. 
By the union of such tubercles masses of tubercular material are 
formed, which in some cases are of great size. The disease is called 
tuberculosis, because it is characterized by the formation of these 
peculiar nodules, and the bacillus which causes the disease is for the 
same reason known technically as the Bacillus tuberculosis. 

There are undoubtedly predisposing conditions which contribute 
toward the development of the disease; some of these are found in 
the animal body and others in the environment. An enfeebled condi- 
tion caused by insufficient feed, exposure to great extremes of atmos- 
pheric temperature and insanitary surroundings, or the drain occa- 
sioned by heavy production of milk, appear to aid the development 



410 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of the bacillus, and there is also a special individual susceptibility 
in some cases which may be otherwise described as an inability of the 
animal tissues to resist and destroy the bacilli when they have pene- 
trated to the inner recesses of the body. 

Among the conditions of environment which aid the development 
of tuberculosis may be mentioned stabling with lack of ventilation, 
damp buildings, the keeping of many animals together, drafts of air 
which cause colds and catarrhs, and, in general, everything which 
prevents the animals from developing and maintaining the highest 
condition of health. None of these conditions of body or environ- 
ment are sufficient to cause the disease, however, unless the animals 
are exposed to the Bacillus tuberculosis and it penetrates the tissues 
of their bodies. 

The ways in which the tubercle bacilli find their way into the body 
may be considered under four heads: (1) By inhalation into the 
lungs; (2) by taking into the digestive tract in the milk of tuber- 
culous cows or with other contaminated feed; (3) during coition 
when the sexual organs are tuberculous; (4) from the tuberculous 
mother to the fetus in the uterus. The bacilli can reach the lungs 
by inhalation only when the bacilli are thoroughly dried and pulver- 
ized and in condition to be carried by currents of air. 

It is well known that the bacilli withstand drying for months 
before they lose their power of producing disease. They leave the 
body of diseased animals in several ways. There may be a little dis- 
charge occasionally coughed up as a spray from the diseased lungs, 
or this material may be swallowed and the bacilli carried off with 
the excrement, or milk may be spilt, or there may be a discharge 
from the vagina when the genital organs are tuberculous. There 
may also be ulcers of the intestines, from which many bacilli escape 
with the feces. The bacilli from these sources may become dried 
and pulverized and carried in the air of the stable and into the lungs 
of still healthy cattle, where the disease then develops. 

The disease of the stomach, intestines, and mesenteric glands is 
very probably the result of feed infection. Tubercle bacilli may 
have been scattered upon the feed by diseased animals, but the most 
common source of such infection is the milk of tuberculous cows. 
Calves may become infected in this way. The disease may remain 
latent until the animal becomes older. The not infrequent occur- 
rence of tuberculosis of the uterus and ovaries makes it probable 
that the disease may be transmitted by a diseased bull or carried by 
a healthy one from a diseased cow to a number of healthy cows. 

The source of infection is always some previous case of the disease, 
for the latter can never rise spontaneously; hence, in those stables 
in which there is frequent change of cattle the introduction of tuber- 
culosis by cattle coming from other infected stables is the most fre- 



TTJBEKCULOSIS. 411 

quent source of infection. Since the bacilli when dried can be car- 
ried by the air, it is not necessary that healthy animals come in 
direct contact with cases of disease to become infected. In general 
the greatest number of cases occur in the immediate environment of 
cities, where there are not only abundant opportunities for infection, 
owing to the frequent introduction of new animals into herds, but 
where the sanitary conditions may be regarded as the poorest. 

The bacillus of tuberculosis was discovered by Robert Koch in 
1882. It is a slender, rod-like body (see PI. XXVIII, fig. 6) from 
one-third to two-thirds the diameter of a red blood corpuscle in 
length. As already explained, w r hen the bacillus has become lodged 
in any organ or tissue it begins to multiply, and thereby causes an 
irritation in the tissue around it, which leads to the formation of 
the so-called tubercle. The tubercle, when it has reached its full 
growth, is a little nodule about the size of a millet seed. It is com- 
posed of several kinds of tissue cells. Soon a change takes place 
within the tubercle. Disintegration begins, and a soft, cheesy sub- 
stance is formed in the center, which may contain particles of lime 
salts. When these tubercles continue to form in large numbers they 
run together, forming masses of various sizes. The disintegration 
which attacks them leads to the formation of large cheesy masses 
of a yellowish color, containing more or less of lime salts in the 
form of gritty particles. These large tuberculous masses are sur- 
rounded by or embedded in layers of fibrous tissue, which in some 
cases becomes very dense and thick. 

The disease is thus a development of these tubercles in one or 
more organs of the body. The distribution and number of the 
tubercles determine the course of the disease. 

In a large number of cases the changes are limited to the lungs and 
the serous membranes 1 of the thorax and abdomen. Pathologists 
have been in the habit of calling the lung disease tuberculosis and 
the disease of the serous membranes " pearly disease." Statistics 
have shown that in about one-half of the cases both lungs and serous 
membranes are diseased, in one-third only the lungs, and in one-fifth 
only the serous membranes. At the same time the lymphatic glands 
near the diseased organs are usually involved. Other organs, such as 
the liver, not infrequently contain tubercles. Though the disease 
may remain restricted to a single organ, it now and then is found 
generalized, affecting all organs of the body. 

In the lungs (PI. XXXIV) the changes observed vary according 
to the age and intensity of the disease process. They usually begin 

1 These membranes comprise the smooth, very delicate, glistening lining of the large 
body cavities. In the thorax the serous membrane (pleura) covers the ribs and dia- 
phragm as well as the whole lung surface. In the abdomen a similar membrane (perito- 
neum i lines the interior of the cavity and covers the bowels, liver, spleen, etc. 



412 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

with the appearance of very minute tubercles. These may appear in 
large numbers on the surface of the lungs or within the lung tissue. 
Later the contents become cheesy and partly calcified. When these 
tubercles are sufficiently numerous to become confluent, large masses 
may be formed, which undergo the same retrogressive changes of 
caseation and calcification. In addition to the formation of tubercles 
in the lung tissue, certain other changes take place. There is usually 
bronchitis with abundant catarrhal secretion; this plugs up the 
smaller air tubes, and the lung tissue supplied with air by the tubes 
collapses. Subsequently it becomes filled with yellowish, cheesy 
matter, which greatly distends the small air tubes and air vesicles 
(bronchopneumonia). The connective tissue between the lung 
lobules, around the tubercles, and around the air tubes, becomes 
thickened and indurated. In the larynx and the bronchi tubercles 
may vegetate upon the mucous membrane, and ulcers may result 
from their breaking down. The inflammatory irritation which the 
growth of the tubercles on the surface of the lungs arouses gives rise 
to adhesion of the lungs to the ribs and diaphragm. This adhesion 
is sometimes so firm and extensive that the lungs appear grown to 
the chest wall. 

When, therefore, the lungs in advanced stages of the disease are 
cut open we observe large yellowish masses, from one-quarter to 
three-quarters of an inch in diameter, of a cheesy texture, in which 
calcified, gritty particles are embedded and which are surrounded by 
very firm connective tissue. The neighboring lung tissue, when col- 
lapsed and involved in bronchopneumonia, has the color and con- 
sistency of pale-red flesh. The air tubes, large and small, stand out 
prominently on the cut surface. They are distended with a pasty, 
yellowish, cheesy mass, surrounded and enveloped in thick mucus, 
and their walls greatly thickened. The larger bronchi may be sac- 
culated, owing to the distention produced by the cheesy contents. 

The disease usually attacks the bronchial glands, which are situated 
on the trachea and bronchial tubes at the bifurcation. The changes 
in the glands are the same as those going on in the lung tissue, and 
they frequently reach an enormous size. 

The tubercle formation on the serous membranes covering the lungs 
and chest wall (PI. XXXVII, fig. 2), which may go on at the same 
time with the lung disease or independent of it, has been called 
" pearly disease," on account of the peculiar appearance of the tu- 
bercles. These begin as very minute, grayish nodules, which give 
the originally smooth, lustrous membrane a roughened appearance. 
These minute tubercles enlarge, become confluent, and project above 
the surface of the membrane as wartlike masses, attaining the size 
of peas. In this stage their attachment to the membrane is by means 
of delicate fibers. The attachment is loose, so that the tubercle hangs 



TUBERCULOSIS. 413 

by a short pedicle or neck and may be moved slightly to and fro. 
Large masses are frequently formed by a coalescence of many tuber- 
cles and the secondary formation of the same. These may be found 
on the lungs, the ribs, and the diaphragm. These tubercles likewise 
undergo degenerative changes. The center partly softens and partly 
calcifies into a grayish mortarlike mass, and is gritty. Associated 
with the formation of tubercles on the pleura, those glands situated 
back of the center of the lungs between the two main lobes (posterior 
mediastinal) become greatly enlarged and the center cheesy. (PL 
XXXVI, fig. 1.) They may compress the esophagus and interfere 
with swallowing. The size attained by these tumors and new 
growths is well illustrated by the fact that, taken together, they not 
infrequently weigh from 60 to 80 pounds. The bronchial glands, 
which in the healthy state are not so large as horse-chestnuts, have 
been found to attain a weight of more than 10 pounds. 

In the abdominal cavity tubercles may be found, both in the 
organs and on the serous membranes covering them. They are 
situated preferably on the omentum, or caul (see PI. XXXVI, fig. 2), 
the diaphragm, and the walls of the abdomen. In the liver large 
and small tubercular masses are occasionally encountered. (See 
PI. XXXV.) The mesenteric glands are occasionally enlarged and 
tuberculous ; likewise the glands near the liver. Tubercles may also 
develop in the spleen, the kidneys, the uterus and ovaries, and the 
testicles. 

Tubercular affection of the intestines seems to be quite rare, 
although ulcers of the large intestines have been observed. Nodules 
may also form under the serous covering of the intestines. 

The brain and spinal cord are occasionally found tuberculous. Of 
40 cases, Semmer found tuberculosis of the brain in 4. It is not 
improbable that, owing to the infrequency of exposing the brain and 
spinal cord, tuberculosis may have escaped the attention of patholo- 
gists, and it may be that it is not so uncommon as is generally sup- 
posed. The tubercles occur on the membranes of the brain as well as 
in the substance of the brain itself. They project into the ventricles 
as masses, varying in size from a pinhead to a hen's egg. They 
finally lead to various inflammatory changes. Johne has observed 
numerous small tubercles on the membranes of the spinal cord. 

Very rarely tuberculous lesions have been observed in the bones 
and muscles of the body. Not so rare, however, is the affection of the 
lymphatic glands embedded in the muscular tissue, and those which 
can be felt beneath the skin. These are situated at the joints, under 
the jaw, and along the neck. 

Of late tubercular disease of the udder in cows (PI. XXXVIII) 
has received considerable attention from sanitarians, owing to the 
infection of the milk with the virus of tuberculosis. According to 



414 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

those who have given this subject special attention, the udder be- 
comes swollen uniformly and quite firm. This swelling, which is 
painless, frequently attacks but one quarter, more rarely two, these 
being usually the hind quarters. The larger milk ducts contain yel- 
lowish, cheesy particles, in which are many tubercle bacilli. Later 
larger nodules can be felt within the udder, which undergo the 
various changes to which tubercles are subject. The udder may grow 
very hard to the touch and become very large, weighing in some cases 
up to 40 pounds. The milk, at first normal, becomes thin and watery 
after a month or so, and is mixed with flakes and tubercle bacilli. 

As regards the frequency of the tuberculous processes in the dif- 
ferent organs, the following carefully compiled statistics of the 
disease in Bavaria and Baden may serve as a guide : 

Bavaria : Per cent. 

Tuberculosis of luugs and serous membranes 41 

Tuberculosis of lungs alone 33 

Tuberculosis of serous membranes alone (pearly disease) 17 

Tuberculosis of other organs 8 

Baden : 

Tuberculosis of lungs alone 21 

Tuberculosis of serous membranes alone 28 

Both combined 39 

Generalized tuberculosis 9 

Tuberculosis of the sexual organs alone 3 

Symptoms. — The beginning of the disease usually passes unnoticed, 
inasmuch as it is very slow and insidious and rarely accompanied with 
fever. When the lungs are involved a dull, short cough is noticed, 
which may later on become prolonged, convulsive, and very trouble- 
some to the animal. The cough is more frequent in the morning 
after movement and drinking. The breathing varies. Only when 
much of the lung tissue is diseased is it labored and accompanied 
with active movements of the chest and nostrils. Discharge from the 
nose is rare or absent. At times, however, when the tubercles have 
broken down and cavities containing cheesy masses have formed in 
the lung tissue, or when the air tubes have become filled with cheesy 
and mucous masses, coughing will dislodge them and cause their dis- 
charge. In advanced stages the breath may have a disagreeable odor. 
Pressure on the chest wall may give rise to pain. 

The general effect on the body is at first slight. In fact, animals 
may remain in good flesh for a considerable time. Invariably as the 
disease progresses loss of flesh and appetite and paleness of the 
mucous membranes become manifest. These symptoms are accom- 
panied with a gradual diminution of the milk secretion. The de- 
bilitated condition of the animal is also manifested by a staring coat 
and a tough, dry, harsh skin (hidebound). Digestive disturbances 
are indicated by tympanites, or distention of the rumen by gas, colic, 



TUBEECULOSIS. . 415 

and diarrhea, alternating with constipation. The animal generally 
dies from exhaustion after a period of sickness which may last 
months or even years. 

Tuberculosis in the abdominal organs is often signalized by abor- 
tion and by abnormal sexual manifestations. When the brain is in- 
volved, the disease may cause convulsions, unconsciousness, paralysis, 
as well as peculiar movements in a circle, oblique position of the head, 
etc. Lydtin quotes the following description of the disease as taken 
from a Swiss sanitary order: 

A dry, short, interrupted, hoarse cough, which the sick animals manifest, 
especially in the morning at feeding time, still more after somewhat violent 
exertion. At first these animals may be full blooded and lay on a considerable 
amount of fat when well fed. As the disease progresses they grow thin and 
show more and more those appearances which indicate diseased nutrition, such 
as a staring, lusterless, disheveled coat ; dirty, tense skin, which appears very 
pale in those regions free from hair. The temperature of the skin is below 
normal. The loss of fat causes sinking of the eyes in their sockets. They 
appear swimming in water, and their expression is weak. The cough is more 
frequent, but never or very rarely accompanied with discharge. The body con- 
tinues to emaciate, even with plenty of food and a good appetite, so that the 
quantity of milk is small. At times in the early stages of the disease, still 
more in the later stages, the diseased animals manifest considerable tenderness 
when pressure is applied to the front or the sides of the chest by coughing, 
moaning, etc. Often symptoms are wanting in spite of the existence of the 
disease. 

Lydtin also quotes at length a description of the abnormal sexual 
desire occasionally observed among cows when affected with this 
disease. 

Diagnosis. — A disease so varied in its attack upon the different 
organs of the body and in the extent of the disease process must nec- 
essarily lead to mistakes when diagnosis is attempted by ordinary 
means of examination. It has been confounded with the later stages 
of pleuropneumonia, with parasitic diseases of the brain, the lungs, 
the intestines, and with actinomycosis. A careful examination of the 
lungs by ausculation and percussion enables the expert to locate large 
tuberculous masses, owing to dullness, loss of respiratory murmur, and 
abnormal sounds, such as blowing, whistling, and creaking. The 
majority of cases of tuberculosis in cattle, however, including many 
in which the lungs are quite seriously involved, can not be detected 
in this manner. 

THE TUBERCULIN TEST. 

The tuberculin test, which is marvelously accurate in its indica- 
tions, has been almost universally adopted for the detection of tuber- 
culosis. Tuberculin is a drug prepared by sterilizing, filtering, and 
concentrating the liquids in which the tubercle bacillus has been 
allowed to vegetate. It contains the cooked products of the growth 



TUBERCULOSIS. 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate XXXIV. Tuberculosis of the lungs of cattle. The upper figure represents 
a large cheesy mass, surrounded by a capsule of connective tissue, the 
Avhole embedded in healthy lung tissue. The lower figure illustrates in 
section a mass of tubercles which have undergone cheesy degeneration, 
and some of which are surrounded by dense connective tissue. 

Plats XXXV. Tuberculosis of the liver. A large portion of the lobe repre- 
sented in the plate has undergone tuberculous changes. Numerous 
nodules are shown in various stages of the disease, the majority of 
which, however, contain the yellowish, partly cheesy, partly gritty 
areas characteristic of advanced tuberculous degeneration. This large 
mass involves the surface of the liver, and also extends into the liver 
substance. 

Plate XXXVI. Tuberculosis of lymph gland and of omentum (caul). 

Fig. 1. A lymph gland from the region of the thorax behind or above the 
esophagus, or gullet (posterior, or dorsal, mediastinum). The gland is 
shown cut through and laid open. It is very much enlarged, and the 
yellowish cheesy masses which represent tissue undergoing tuberculous 
changes are well shown on the cut surface. 
Fig. 2. Omentum, or caul, resting upon the paunch. The reddish nodules 
with which the membrane is beset are tubercles, the product of the 
disease. 

Plate XXXVII. Fig. 1. Tuberculosis of the sirloin and porterhouse cuts of 
beef. The grapelike tuberculous growths are mainly restricted to the 
lining membrane of the abdomen. 
Fig. 2. Tuberculosis of the pleura of a cow, so-called " pearly disease." 
Notice the grapelike clusters of tubercular nodules scattered over the 
lining membrane of the chest (pleura). 

Plate XXXVIII. Tuberculosis of cow's udder. The udder was uniformly 
swollen and quite firm. Small cheesy foci and yellowish lines of 
tuberculous material follow the course of the milk ducts. The mucous 
membrane of the milk cistern (a) is ulcerated and covered with 
yellowish cheesy particles. The supramammary lymphatic gland (b) 
is greatly enlarged and contains many miliary tubercular foci. 
416 



Diseases of Cattle — U. S. Dept. of Agr 



Plate XXXIV. 





AHOENftCO BALTIMORE. 



Tuberculosis of the Lungs of Cattle. 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept of Agr. 



Plate XXXV. 




I MOEN ftCO BALTIMORE. 



Tuberculosis of the Liver. 



Diseases of Cattle — U. S. Dept. of Agr 



Plate xxxvi 



It ■• 



"tjyAgSttft,.^ 



..- fc- 







Fig. 1 




Fig. 2 



Haines del. 



OCN aco BALTIMORE. 



Tuberculosis of Lymph Gland and of Omentum (Caul). 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXXVII. 




Fig. 1.— Tuberculosis of Sirloin and Porterhouse Cuts of 
Beef. 




Fig. 2.— Tuberculosis of Pleura of a Cow, So-called " Pearly 
Disease." 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept of Agr. 



Plate XXXVIil. 




Haines del. 



I ftCO BALTIMORE. 



Tuberculosis of Cows Udder. 



TUBERCULOSIS. 417 

of these bacilli, but not the bacilli themselves, consequently, when 
this substance is injected under the skin of an animal it is absolutely 
unable to produce the disease, cause abortion, or otherwise injure the 
animal. In case the injected animal is normal there is no more effect 
upon the system than would be expected from the injection of sterile 
water; however, if the animal is tuberculous, a decided rise of tem- 
perature will follow the use of tuberculin. This substance, discov- 
ered by Koch, has the effect, when injected into the tissues of a 
tuberculous animal, of causing a decided rise of temperature, while it 
has no such effect upon animals free from the disease. The value of 
tuberculin for this purpose was tested during the years 1890 and 1891 
by Guttman, Roeckl and Schiitz, Bang and Salomonsen, Lydtin, 
Johne and Siedamgrotzky, Nocard, and many others. It was at once 
recognized as a most remarkable and accurate method of detecting 
tuberculosis even in the early stages and when the disease had yet 
made but little progress. 

The tuberculin test came into existence through the most careful 
and thorough scientific experimentation. In practice it is applied by 
first taking the temperature of the animal to be tested, at intervals 
of about two hours, a sufficient number of times to establish the nor- 
mal temperature of the body under the ordinary conditions of life. 
The proper dose of tuberculin is then injected under the skin with a 
hypodermic syringe between 8 and 10 p. m. on the day of taking the 
preliminary temperatures. On the following day the temperatures 
are taken every two hours, beginning at 6 a. m. and continuing until 
20 hours following the injection, if the fullest information is desired. 1 
From average temperatures, calculated by De Schweinitz in 1896, 
of about 1,600 tests of tuberculous cows, it appears that in general 
the rise of temperature begins from five and one-half to six hours 
after the tuberculin is injected, reaches its greatest height from the 
sixteenth to the twentieth hours, and then gradually declines, reach- 
ing the normal again by the twenty-eighth hour. 

As a result of this method an accurate diagnosis may be estab- 
lished in more than 97 per cent of the cases tested. The relatively 
few failures in diagnoses are included among two classes of cattle. 
The first class contains those that are tuberculous, but which do 
not react either because of the slight effect of an ordinary-sized 
dose of tuberculin on an advanced case of the disease with so much 
natural tuberculin already in the system, or on account of a recent 
previous test with tuberculin which produces a tolerance to this 
material, lasting for about six weeks. The second class includes 

1 The ophthalmic-tuberculin test and the intradermal-tuberculin test, as their names 
imply, consist in the application of the tuberculin to the eye and to the deep layer of the 
skin of tlie animal to be tested. These methods will not be discussed at present, as they 
are still in the experimental stage. 

33071°— 1G 27 



418 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

those that are not tuberculous, but which show an elevation of tem- 
perature as a result of (a) advanced pregnancy, (b) the excite- 
ment of oestrum, (c) concurrent diseases, as inflammation of the 
lungs, intestines, uterus, udder, or other parts, abortion, retention 
of afterbirth, indigestion, etc., (d) inclosure in a hot, stuffy stable, 
especially in summer, or exposure to cold drafts or rains, (e) any 
change in the method of feeding, watering, or stabling of the animal 
during the test. Notwithstanding all these possibilities of error, 
the results of thousands of tests show that in less than 3 per cent 
of the cases tested do these failures actually occur. In the first class 
the chances of error are decidedly reduced by the skilled veterinarian 
by making careful physical examination and diagnosing clinically 
these advanced cases, and by the injection of double or triple doses 
into all recently tested cattle, with the taking of the after temper- 
ature, beginning two hours following the injection and continuing 
hourly for 20 hours. 

It is therefore apparent that tuberculin should be applied only 
by or under the direction of a competent veterinarian, capable not 
only of injecting the tuberculin but also of interpreting the results, 
and particularly of picking out all clinical cases by physical exami- 
nation. The latter observation is extremely important and should 
always be made on every animal tested. 

In the second class errors are avoided by eliminating from the 
test those cases that are nearing parturition or are in heat or show 
evidence of the previously mentioned diseases or exhibit tempera- 
tures sufficiently high to make them unreliable for use as normal. 
Then, in reading after temperatures it is advisable not to recognize 
as a reaction an elevation of temperature less than 2° F. and which 
at the same time must go above 103.8° F., and the temperature reac- 
tion must likewise have the characteristic rainbow curve. (Those 
cases which approximate but do not reach this standard should be 
considered as suspicious and held for a retest six weeks later.) In 
addition, a satisfactory tuberculin must be used; also an accurate 
thermometer and a reliable syringe, in order that a sufficient dose of 
tuberculin may be given. Finally, the number of apparent errors of 
the tuberculin test will be greatly diminished if a careful post- 
mortem examination is made, giving especial attention to the lymph 
glands. This low percentage of failures being the case, cattle owners 
should welcome the tuberculin test, not only for their own interest 
but for the welfare of the public as well. Where this method of 
diagnosing the disease has beeen adopted tuberculosis is gradually 
being eradicated, while it is spreading rapidly and becoming widely 
disseminated in those districts in which the tuberculin test has not 
been used. Without its use the disease can not be controlled and 
the owner is confronted with serious and continuous losses; with 



TUBERCULOSIS. 419 

its use the disease can be eradicated from the herd, a clean herd 
established in a few years without very serious loss or hardship, and 
the danger of its spread to man removed. Tuberculin may therefore 
be considered a most beneficial discovery for the stock raiser. 
Strange to say, many of these men have been incredulous, antago- 
nistic, or prejudiced against the tuberculin test by misinterpreting 
published statements, by incorrect, unsubstantiated, or exaggerated 
reports, and by alleged injurious effects to healthy cattle. 
Law has clearly stated the question when he says — 

Many stock owners still entertain an ignorant and unwarranted dread of the 
tuberculin test. It is true that when recklessly used by ignorant and careless 
people it may be made a root of evil, yet as employed by the intelligent and 
careful expert it is not only perfectly safe, but it is the only known means of 
ascertaining approximately the actual number affected in a given herd. In 
most infected herds living under what are in other inspects good hygienic condi- 
tions two-thirds or three-fourths are not to be detected without its aid, so that in 
clearing a herd from tuberculosis and placing both herd and products above 
suspicion the test becomes essential. * * * In skilled hands the tuberculin 
test will show at least nine-tenths of all cases of tuberculosis when other 
methods of diagnosis will not detect one-tenth. 

Objection to its use among those who are not acquainted with its 
method of preparation or its properties is perfectly natural, but it 
is difficult to explain the antagonism of farmers who are familiar 
with the facts connected with the manufacture and use of tuberculin. 
Probably the most popular objection to tuberculin is that it is too 
searching, since it discovers cases in which the lesions are small and 
obscure. While this fact is admitted, it should also be remembered 
that such a small lesion to-day may break down and become widely 
disseminated in a relatively short period. Therefore any cow 
affected with tuberculosis, even to a slight degree, must be considered 
as dangerous not only to the other animals in the herd but also to 
the consumer of her products. 

In 1898, Bang, of Copenhagen, one of the highest European 
authorities, in his paper presented to the Congress for the Study 
of Human and Animal Tuberculosis, at Paris, said: 

Numerous tests made in almost every civilized country have demonstrated 
that in the majority of cases tuberculin is an excellent means for diagnosing 
the existence or nonexistence of the disease, but giving us no positive infor- 
mation as to the extent to which the disease has progressed. When tuberculin 
produces a typical reaction we may be almost sure that there exists in the body 
of the animal a tubercular process. The cases in which a careful examiner has 
not succeeded in finding it are very rare, and I am led to believe that when, 
notwithstanding all the pains taken, it has escaped discovery, the reason is 
that it is located in a portion of the body that is particularly inaccessible. 
Nevertheless, it is not to be denied that a fever, entirely accidental and of 
short duration, may in some rare cases have simulated a reaction. However 
this may be, the error committed in wrongly condemning an occasional animal 
for tuberculosis is of no practical consequence. 



420 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

A worse aspect of the case is that there are some diseased animals in which 
tuberculin fails to discover the existence of tuberculosis. In most of these, no 
doubt, the deposits are old, insignificant, and generally calcified, or they are 
cases where the disease is arrested and perhaps in process of recovery, and 
which are possibly incapable of disseminating the contagion. But it is known 
that there are cases, not altogether rare, where tuberculin fails to cause a 
reaction in a highly tuberculous animal, and consequently one in which the 
disease exists in an extremely contagious form. For this reason a clinical 
examination should always be made of an animal which does not give a reac- 
tion but which shows symptoms indicating that, notwithstanding the test, it 
may suffer from tuberculosis. 

Nocard, of Paris, wrote also in 1898 as follows : 

The degree of certainty of the indications furnished may be stated in precise 
terms. The observation of a clear reaction to tuberculin is unequivocal; the 
animal is tuberculous. The pretended errors imputed to the method are ex- 
plained by the extreme sensitiveness of the reagent, which is capable of detect- 
ing the smallest lesion. It often requires prolonged and minute "researches in 
the depths of all the tissues to discover the few miliary centers, the presence 
of which has been revealed. The reaction is absolutely specific. In those cases 
where it is observed with animals which show lesions of another disease (acti- 
nomycosis, hydatid disease, verminous bronchitis, distomatosls), it may be 
affirmed that there exists, in addition to these conspicuous changes, a tubercu- 
lous center which alone has provoked the reaction. 

The failure to react does not necessarily imply absence of tuberculosis. Such 
failures of tuberculin are very exceptional. They are seen most frequently with 
animals affected with tuberculosis in a very advanced stage and made evident 
by plain external signs. Sometimes, also, there are found at the post-mortem 
examination of animals which have not reacted small fibrous or calcified lesions 
in such a condition that one is tempted to believe them cured. Whether sterile 
or not, these legions have no tendency to increase, and they are not very danger- 
ous from the point of view of contagion. 

These opinions of two eminent authorities, living in different 
countries, after long experience of their own and after studying the 
results of the many tests made in different parts of the world, should 
have great weight. They are essentially the same throughout. 

In 1897 Voges compiled statistics of tuberculin tests, the accuracy 
of which had been determined by post-mortem examination. Of 
7,327 animals tested, it appeared that errors had been made with 204, 
or 2.78 per cent. In the work of the Pennsylvania Live Stock Sani- 
tary Board post-mortem examinations were made on about 4,400 
reacting cattle and the disease was found in all but 8 of those which 
had given characteristic reactions. 

The results of a much larger number of tests might be compiled 
at this time, but they would not materially change the average of 
those already mentioned. It is plain that tuberculin is a remarkably 
accurate test of tuberculosis, that the animals which react may be 
safely considered as tuberculous, and that when a careful clinical 
examination is practiced in addition to the test there are few animals 
in a dangerous condition which escape detection. 



TUBERCULOSIS. 421 

The first questions asked by those who oppose the adoption of the 
tuberculin tests are : Is this test infallible ? and, if it is not infallible, 
why should it be forced upon the cattle owners of the country? 

In answer to these questions it may be said that tuberculin is not 
absolutely infallible, and yet it is by far the best method of diagnos- 
ing tuberculosis that has been discovered. It is much better than any 
test known for pleuropneumonia when that disease was eradicated. 

Practically all the animals that react are affected with tuberculosis 
and should be separated from the herd, not only in the interest of 
the public, but in the interest of the owner of the herd. The best 
authorities admit, after studying many thousands of tests, that there 
are few, if any, mistakes made in condemning cattle which show a 
typical tuberculin reaction. The errors are principally in the other 
direction — that is, some tuberculous animals are not discovered by 
the tuberculin test, but as the most dangerous of these may be 
picked out by ordinary clinical examination this fault of tuberculin 
is not so serious as it at first sight appears. This being the case, it 
should not be necessary to force the tuberculin test upon owners. 
They should be anxious to adopt it in their own interests and for 
the protection of their patrons. There is to-day no greater danger 
to the cattle and hog industries than that which confronts them in 
the form of tuberculosis, a disease already widespread and rapidly 
extending. Furthermore, in view of the results revealed by numer- 
ous tests covering vast numbers of animals, tuberculin must be con- 
sidered as harmless for healthy animals. It has also been clearly 
demonstrated that tuberculin interferes in no way with the milking 
function in healthy cattle; neither in the quantity of milk nor in 
butter-fat value has any variation been detected. The conclusions 
of some of the best authorities on the subject of its harmlessness to 
healthy animals are given below. 

Nocard and Leclainche state: 

Direct experiments and observations collected by thousands show that the 
tuberculin injections have no unfavorable effect. With healthy animals the 
system is Indifferent to the inoculation ; with tuberculous animals it causes 
slight changes which are not at all serious. 

Bang has written as follows on this question : 

We will now consider the following question, a very important one, in the 
application of tuberculin, viz: Can the reaction produce a worse condition in 
tuberculous animals than before existed? Hess emphatically states that it can, 
and on this account he earnestly warns against its application. My attention 
has been directed to this question from the beginning. In my first publication 
on tuberculin injection I reported two cases in which acute miliary tuberculosis 
was proved in two high-grade tuberculous cows several weeks after the tuber- 
culin injection. I then stated my suspicion that perhaps the tuberculin injec- 
tion had some connection with this, just as is often supposed to be the case 
in human practice With my present very large amount of material for obser- 



422 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

vation at hand I may express the following opinion : Such an acute develop- 
ment of tuberculosis as a result of tuberculin injection is to be feared only 
exceptionally, and then in cases of advanced tuberculosis. It must not be for- 
gotten that acute miliary tuberculosis by no means rarely accompanies an 
advanced tuberculosis of long standing. It is therefore impossible to offer 
strict proof of the causal connection with the injection, and only oft-repeated 
observation could make this probable. In support of my view I offer the 
following : In the course of the last three years I have made careful post- 
mortem examinations of 83 tuberculous animals, which have been removed 
from my experiment farm, Thurebylille. Among these were 18 (or, strictly 
speaking, 23) high-grade tuberculous animals. I have been able to prove 
miliary tuberculosis in only 4 of these. Among the others, which showed less 
developed tuberculosis, I have never found miliary tuberculosis, and with 
very many I have never found any sign of a more rapid development of the 
process. On the contrary, it has been proved that the disease was restricted 
locally, often for years, in spite of yearly repeated injections. Dissections were 
made at very different periods after the injections — in 17 cases from 4 to 12 
days after the last test. In all of these cases earlier tests had been made 
months or years before. In 28 cases the injection took place from 19 days 
to 2 months before the butchering; in 3 of these cases earlier injections had 
been made. In 38 cases from two and one-half months to one year intervened 
between the last injection and the dissection. Dissection gives the best expla- 
nation of this question, but a clinical observation, continued for years, of a herd 
tested with tuberculin can render very essential aid. If Hess's opinion is cor- 
rect, it is to be assumed that tuberculosis must take an unusually vicious 
course in such herds, but this I have been unable to prove. At Thurebylille 
there has existed for three years a reacting division, consisting originally of 
131 head and now 69. Although these animals are yearly tested, and although 
most of them react every year, the division certainly appears to be made 
up of healthy animals, and the farm inspector has expressed the decided opin- 
ion that the tuberculosis in this division is no more developed than at the 
beginning of the experiment. The testimony of many owners of large herds 
of cattle which have long ago been injected is to the same effect. I will ad- 
duce statements from several. A farm tenant whose cattle were injected 20 
months previously, when 82 per cent of the grown animals reacted, wrote me 
recently as follows : " Only 2 cows from the division of 100 head had been 
sold as decidedly tuberculous. The majority appeared afterwards, just as 
before, entirely healthy. The fat animals which had been slaughtered had 
been pronounced healthy by the butchers." Another farm tenant with a herd 
injected in 1894 had not been obliged to remove a single animal from the tuber- 
culosis division, numbering 70 head. A large farm owner in Jutland stated 
in September that he had traced no undesirable result from the injection. His 
herd of 350 had been injected in February and about 75 per cent reacted. 
Similar answers have been given by other owners and veterinarians. 

A veterinarian who had injected 600 animals, among them a herd of a large 
farm, 18 months previously, expressed the belief that the injection had pro- 
duced in no single case an unusually rapid or vicious course of tuberculosis. 
In spite of a demand made months ago, I have received thus far no report from 
any veterinarian of an undesirable result. 

On a large farm, on which before the injection tuberculosis had appeared 
in a vicious form, the owner had the impression that the severe cases had after- 
wards become more numerous. He had, however, not suffered severe losses, 
and 8 months later the large reacting division by no means made a bad 
impression. Finally, it is to be noticed that tuberculin has been employed on 



TUBEECULOSIS. 423 

a large scale in Denmark for years, and still the demand from farmers con- 
stantly increases. This could certainly not be the case if the injections were 
generally followed by bad results. 

Paige said, after the tests of the herd of the Massachusetts Agri- 
cultural College, that " its use is not followed by any ill effects of a 
serious or permanent nature." 

Lamson, of the New Hampshire College Agricultural Experiment 
Station, said : " There is abundant testimony that its use is not in 
any way injurious to a healthy animal." 

Conn, who made a special study of the present attitude of Euro- 
pean science toward tuberculosis in cattle, reached the following 
conclusions : 

It has been, from the first, thought by some that the use of tuberculin pro- 
duces a direct injury upon the inoculated animals. This, however, is un- 
doubtedly a mistake, and there is no longer any belief anywhere on the part 
of scientists that the injury thus produced is worthy of note. In the first place, 
the idea that it may produce the disease in a perfectly healthy animal by the 
inoculation is absolutely fallacious. The tuberculin does not contain the 
tubercle bacillus, and it is absolutely certain that it is impossible to produce a 
case of tuberculosis in an animal unless the tubercle bacilli are present. The 
use of tuberculin, therefore, certainly can never produce the disease in the 
inoculated animal. 

It has been more widely believed, however, that the inoculation of an animal 
with this material has a tendency to stimulate an incipient case of tuberculosis. 
It has been thought that an animal with a very slight case of the disease may, 
after inoculation, show a very rapid extension of this disease and be speedily 
brought to a condition where it is beyond any use. The reasons given for this 
have been the apparent activity of the tuberculosis infection in animals that 
have been slaughtered shortly after inoculation. This has been claimed, not 
only by agriculturists who have not understood the subject well, but also by 
veterinarians and boeteriologists. But here, too, we must recognize that the 
claim has been disproved, and that there is now a practical unanimity of 
opinion on the part of all who are best calculated to judge that such an in- 
jurious effect does not occur. Even those who have been most pronounced in 
the claim that there is injury thus resulting from tuberculin have, little by 
little, modified their claim, until at the present time they say either that the 
injury which they formerly claimed does not occur or that the stimulus of the 
disease is so slight that it should be absolutely neglected in view of the great 
value which may arise from the use of tuberculin. Apart from two or three 
who hold this very moderate opinion, all bacteriologists and veterinarians unite 
in agreeing that there is no evidence for believing that any injury results. In 
Denmark, especially, many hundreds of thousands of animals have been inocu- 
lated, and the veterinarians say there is absolutely no season in all their 
experience for believing that the tuberculin inoculation is followed by any 
injurious results. 

In 1898 tuberculosis was found in the large Shorthorn herd belong- 
ing to W. C. Edw T ards, of Canada, who with commendable prompt- 
ness and public spirit had his animals tested, and at once proceeded 
to separate the diseased from the healthy animals. They were all 
finely bred animals, and of the very class which we have been told 



424 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

are most susceptible to the injurious effects of tuberculin. After 
using this test regularly for two years, Mr. Edwards wrote as fol- 
lows: 

I have seen nothing to lead me to believe that the tuberculin test had any 
injurious influence on the course of the disease. It is by no means our opinion 
that the disease has been stimulated or aggravated by the application of the 
tuberculin test. All animals that we have tested two or three times continue 
as hale and hearty as they were previously, and not one animal in our herds 
has broken down or failed in any way since we began testing. 

Mr. Edwards, in December, 1901, verbally stated that his views 
as to the harmlessness of tuberculin remained unchanged, and that 
he had not seen the least ill effect in any of his cattle from its use. 

Those who have had most experience with tuberculin have failed 
to observe any injurious effects following its use upon healthy cattle. 
With tuberculous cattle it produces a fever of short duration, and in 
the great majority of cases all derangement of the system which it 
causes disappears within 48 hours after the tuberculin is adminis- 
tered. There appear to have been a very few cases in which the dis- 
ease was aggravated, and a greater number in which it was benefited 
by the injection of tuberculin. The cases of abortion following the 
tuberculin test have not been numerous, even when cows were tested 
within a few weeks of the normal time of calving. The few cases of 
this kind which have occurred may be explained by the fact that 
abortion in cattle is a very common occurrence, and that it would 
inevitably happen sometimes after the tuberculin test as a mere coin- 
cidence and without any relation between the test and the loss of 
the calf. The cases of abortion which have been cited appear to be 
no more numerous than might be expected to have occurred among 
the same number of cattle within the same period if the test had 
not been applied. 

Most of the objections to tuberculin would probably be removed 
if some method of compensation for the reacting animals could be 
devised. Thus, in Pennsylvania, where tuberculosis is being eradi- 
cated with more success than in any other State, and w T here there are 
usually three times as many voluntary requests on file for the appli- 
cation of the test as can be made, all reacting animals are paid for 
by the State. As the suppression of tuberculosis is a public-health 
measure it would appear perfectly logical for the State governments 
to reimburse cattle owners for animals condemned and slaughtered. 

Provision could be made to pay 70 per cent of the appraised value 
of the condemned animals, not to exceed $50 per head for common 
stock or $150 for registered stock. Such legislation should also in- 
clude a requirement for the testing of all cattle coming into the State. 

All tuberculous animals should be slaughtered in abattoirs having 
Federal inspection, and the money obtained from carcasses which are 



TUBERCULOSIS. 425 

inspected and passed for food, and from the hide and offal of those 
carcasses condemned as unfit for food, should be applied as part pay- 
ment on the indemnity for their respective owners. The paj^ment of 
indemnity for tuberculous animals is a good business policy and 
would do more toward making the tuberculin test popular with cattle 
owners than any other possible action; also, as a corollary of the 
latter, more testing would be performed and more tuberculous cattle 
would be discovered at the start, but the gradual suppression of the 
disease would soon be manifest, as has been noted in Pennsylvania 
and Denmark. Furthermore, as Stiles has mentioned, if tuberculosis 
can be eradicated from dairy herds with but slight loss to the owner, 
the increase in the price of milk would naturally be inhibited, and, 
consequently, the children of poor families would be in less danger 
of a decrease in this very important article of their diet. 

From the investigations and observations that have been men- 
tioned, it may be safely concluded — 

1. That the tuberculin test is a wonderfully accurate method of 
determining whether an animal is affected with tuberculosis. 

2. That by its use the animals diseased with tuberculosis may be 
detected and removed from the herd, thereby eradicating the disease. 

3. That it has no injurious effect upon healthy cattle. 

4. That the comparatively small number of cattle which have 
aborted, suffered in health, or fallen off in condition after the test 
were either diseased before it was made or were affected by some 
cause other than the tuberculin. 

SUM MAE Y OF DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING THE TUBERCULIN TEST. 

1. Stable cattle under usual conditions and among usual surround- 
ings, feed and water in the customary manner. 

2. Make a physical examination of each animal, and give to each 
one some designation by which the animal will be known throughout 
the test. 

3. Take each animal's temperature at least three times at two or 
three hour intervals on the day of injection; for instance, at 2, 5, 
and 8 p. m. 

4. At 8 or 10 p. m. inject a dose of tuberculin under the skin in the 
region of the shoulder, using a sterile hypodermic syringe after dis- 
infecting the skin at the seat of injection with a 5 per cent solution 
of carbolic acid or a similar antiseptic solution. 

5. Tuberculin is not always concentrated to the same degree and 
therefore the dose, which should always appear on the label, varies 
considerably. The dose of imported tuberculin is 0.25 cubic centi- 
meter for an adult cow, and before injection is diluted with sterile 
water to 2 cubic centimeters. The tuberculin made by the Bureau 



426 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

of Animal Industry is prepared so that it will not be necessary to 
dilute it, and the dose is 2 cubic centimeters for an adult animal. 
Yearlings and 2-year-olds, according to size, should receive from 
1 to H cubic centimeters, while bulls and very large animals may 
receive 3 cubic centimeters. 

6. The next day, at 6 a. m., commence taking temperatures, and 
continue every two or three hours until the twentieth hour after 
injection, at which time, if there is no tendency for the temperature 
to rise, the test may cease. 

7. A rise of two or more degrees Fahrenheit above the maximum 
temperature observed on the previous day, provided the temperature 
exceeds 103.8° F., should be regarded as an indication of tuberculosis. 
Those cases which approximate but do not reach this standard should 
be considered as suspicious and held for a retest six weeks later, giv- 
ing double the original dose. 

TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOSIS. 

Treatment of the disease is not seriously considered by any author- 
ities at the present time. 

The measures to be adopted to prevent the spreading of the disease 
must take into consideration not only the tubercle bacillus, but like- 
wise all those circumstances that make cattle more susceptible to the 
disease, and which have already been dwelt upon. It would be useless 
to repeat here all that has been said above on the transmission of 
tubercle bacilli from one animal to another, and on the dangers of 
certain debilitating influences. A careful study of these influences 
will show how tuberculosis may, at least in some cases, be prevented. 
Great care should be bestowed upon the breeding, the surroundings, 
and the feed of the animal, so that the latter may be put into a condi- 
tion to resist irfection even when exposed to it. A tuberculin test 
should be applied to all strange cattle before they are introduced into 
the herd, and those which show a reaction should be refused. 

A rigid exclusion of tuberculous animals is all that is necessary to 
prevent the appearance of the disease, provided cattle are not infected 
by consumptive persons and animals, though it is probably unusual, 
because the bacilli from man are, in most cases, attenuated and harm- 
less to cattle. 

Tuberculosis in cattle must also be considered as bearing upon 
tuberculosis of other domesticated animals, particularly hogs. In 
Europe and the United States this disease is not uncommon among 
hogs, and appears to be on the increase. The reason for its existence 
may be looked for in the feeding of pigs with skim milk, buttermilk, 
and whey from creameries, with the offal of the abattoirs, with the 
household refuse generally, and behind tuberculous cattle. If tuber- 



TUBERCULOSIS. 427 

culosis is common among cattle, it is likely to be transmitted to hogs 
kept in this way. 

The carcasses of animals which have died of tuberculosis should be 
buried deeply so that they can not be eaten by other animals. This 
is likewise true of all organs or tissues of slaughtered animals con- 
taining tubercles. These should never be fed to other animals, such 
as hogs, dogs, and cats, and should either be destroyed by fire or 
deeply buried. 

"When any of the animals in a herd of cattle show evident symp- 
toms of tuberculosis, or when the tuberculin test proves that they 
are affected with this disease, the best method of procedure in most 
cases is to have the affected animals slaughtered and the stables dis- 
infected. A large proportion of the animals which are slightly 
affected yield carcasses which are perfectly wholesome and fit for 
human food, but in all such cases there should be an inspection by an 
expert at the time of slaughter to determine which carcasses may be 
used and which should be destroyed. 

The disinfection of stables may be accomplished by thoroughly 
cleaning them, scrubbing the floors with hot water, brushing down 
all loose dust from the walls, and tearing off all woodwork which is 
partly decayed. Then the whole interior of the stable should be 
covered with a good coat of limewash containing 1 part of formalin 
(which is a 40 per cent watery solution of formaldehyde) to 30 parts 
of the lime wash, or 4 ounces of formalin to each gallon of lime wash. 

Similar precautions should be observed in removing the manure of 
the infected herd from the barnyard and other places accessible to 
cattle, since it is known that tuberculous cattle frequently eliminate 
large numbers of tubercle bacilli through the feces. The ground 
under the manure pile should then be disinfected, either by the 
above-mentioned formalin solution or by unslaked lime thickly 
sprinkled over the soil. 

If all the animals which react are destroyed and the stables dis- 
infected in this manner, the herd should remain free from the disease 
unless other affected animals are added to it. The introduction of 
the disease in this manner may be avoided by requiring a tuberculin 
test of all new animals admitted on the premises. 

Unfortunately it is a fact that tuberculous animals which have 
been tested several times may become so accustomed to tuberculin 
that they will no longer react; consequently it is always advisable 
to purchase cattle from some one who is known to be reliable, as 
otherwise animals of this land may be treated with tuberculin for 
the purpose of hiding the disease. 

In the case of very valuable thoroughbred animals, it may be more 
advantageous to retain the reacting animals which are in good con- 
dition in order to breed from them and in that manner avoid the 



428 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

excessive loss which would follow from their immediate sla lighter. 
This may be done safely if proper precautions are adopted. The 
healthy animals should be separated from the diseased ones, and the 
stable in which the diseased animals have been should be frequently 
disinfected. When calves are dropped by the tuberculous cows they 
should be immediately removed, or at least not allowed to drink the 
mother's milk more than once or twice, and after that fed upon the 
milk of healthy cows. The milk from the animals which have 
reacted should not be used until after it has been boiled and the 
tubercle bacilli thus destroyed. The younger animals which are 
raised from tuberculous dams should be tested when they are about 
6 months old, and all those which react should be immediately 
slaughtered. It has been found that by following the plan sug- 
gested above not more than 1 or 2 per cent of the calves develop 
tuberculosis. It is, of course, some trouble to follow this method, 
but it enables the owner of a pure-bred herd to retain the strains 
of blood which he has been breeding and gradually to eliminate the 
disease. At the end of six or eight years he should have a herd of 
cattle free from tuberculosis and be prepared to destroy all those 
which have reacted. 

BOVINE TUBERCULOSIS AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH. 

The increasing amount of evidence pointing to the identity of 
human and animal tuberculosis, combined with the extraordinary 
mortality of human beings from this disease, often amounting to 10 
to 14 per cent, has raised the question in all civilized countries as 
to how far animal, and especially bovine, tuberculosis is to blame 
for this high mortality. The medical and veterinary professions 
have approached this problem with equal zeal, and much has come to 
light within recent years which enables us to come to some conclu- 
sion. If this disease is transmitted from animals to man, how does 
the transmission take place? As comparatively few people come in 
direct contact with tuberculous cattle, it must be either through the 
meat, the milk, the butter, the cheese, or through all these products 
that the virus enters the human body. The question has thus nar- 
rowed itself down to the food products furnished by cattle. 

It has become a very urgent question, especially in the poorer coun- 
tries of Europe, whether all flesh from tuberculous animals is unfit 
for human food. It is argued there that if it can be shown that in 
the majority of cases of tuberculosis the bones and the muscular 
system are free from infection, there is no reason why the meat 
should not be put on sale under certain restrictions. The question 
may be resolved into two divisions: (1) How frequently does the 
disease invade those parts of the body which are used as food? 
(2) When the disease process is manifestly restricted to the internal 



TUBERCULOSIS. 429 

organs, do tubercle bacilli circulate in the blood and lymph and can 
they be detected in the muscular tissue? 

(1) Disease of the bones is not unknown, although very rare. 
According to Walley, it appears chiefly in the spongy bones of the 
head and backbone and in the long bones of the limbs. Occasionally 
the ends of the bones, where they are covered by the synovial mem- 
brane of the joints, are dotted with tubercles. The muscular system 
itself is very rarely the seat of tuberculous deposits, although the 
lymphatic glands lying near and among the muscles may be not 
infrequently diseased. 

(2) Whether tubercle bacilli are found in muscle juice independent 
of any tuberculous deposits is a question which must be approached 
experimentally. There is on record a great variety of opinions on 
this matter, some authorities considering all flesh from tuberculous 
animals unfit for food, while others hold a contrary view. Experi- 
ments have shown that in rare cases the flesh of tuberculous cattle 
contains a small number of tubercle bacilli. In Germany the flesh 
of animals in which the disease is just beginning, or in which it is 
restricted to one or more related organs, is not rejected. When, 
however, the disease has affected the muscles or bones, or lymphatic 
glands situated on or between them, the flesh is condemned as unfit 
and dangerous. Animals are also rejected in which it is evident, 
from the general distribution of tubercles throughout the various 
organs, that the bacilli have been distributed by the blood and may 
have been carried into the muscular system (generalized tuberculosis). 

Concerning the infectious nature of milk secreted by tuberculous 
cows, authorities have universally agreed that when the udder itself 
is in the slightest degree involved the milk possesses infectious prop- 
erties, and is therefore dangerous. Tubercle bacilli in large numbers 
have been found in the milk and the udder under such circumstances. 
Unlike other affections of the udder, tuberculosis of this organ does 
not at once change the appearance and the quality of the milk 
secreted. Bang states that for at least a month after the disease has 
appeared the milk is normal in appearance and may be consumed 
and sold without arousing the suspicion of the owner. Considerable 
danger is, therefore, involved in this disease, and the necessity for 
the careful inspection of dairy cows seems more urgent than ever. 

Authorities are, however, not fully agreed as to whether the milk 
from tuberculous cows in which the udder is apparently not invaded 
by the disease should be considered dangerous or not. Some incline 
to the belief that the milk secreted by healthy udders is never infec- 
tious, even when the lungs or other organs are affected ; that, in other 
words, the tubercle bacilli are rarely, if ever, separated from the 
lesions which they produce, and that the udder itself must be diseased 
before tubercle bacilli can appear in the milk. Experiments made 



430 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

with the milk of tuberculous cows in which there were no indications 
of udder disease do not bear out this theory, since tubercle bacilli 
have been found in their milk. Some authorities still believe that 
the udder is diseased when the milk is infected, but that the disease 
escapes observation. However this may be, the fact that the udder 
may be diseased and the disease not recognizable simply casts sus- 
picion upon all milk from tuberculous animals. We know that the 
milk of tuberculous cattle may or may not contain tubercle bacilli 
when the udder is apparently free from disease, but we have no rapid 
method of determining whether in any given case the milk contains 
tubercle bacilli or not. Moreover, the bacilli may be absent at one 
time and present at another in milk from the same cow. When we 
consider, therefore, the extent of tuberculosis and the hidden charac- 
ter of the disease, a certain degree of suspicion rests upon all milk. 
Fortunately, tubercle bacilli are readily destroyed by the tempera- 
ture of boiling water, and hence both meat and milk are made entirely 
safe, the former by the various processes of cooking, the latter by 
boiling for a few moments. Until better means of diagnosis are at 
hand it is incumbent upon all communities to have dairy cows exam- 
ined or inspected, at least to the extent of finding out whether the 
udder shows any signs of disease. If this is detected, the affected 
animal should be killed at once or else all opportunity for the sale of 
such milk removed by appropriate measures. The dangers from 
infected milk may by these means be very materially lessened. 

Recently there has been much discussion of the question as to 
whether human and animal tuberculosis are identical diseases and 
as to the possibility of the tuberculosis of animals being transmitted 
to man or that of man being transmitted to animals. 

The fact that tuberculous material from human subjects often 
failed to produce serious disease in cattle was observed by a number 
of the earlier investigators who experimented with such virus. It 
was the experiments and comparative studies of Theobald Smith, 
however, which attracted special attention to the difference in viru- 
lence shown by tubercle bacilli from human and bovine sources when 
inoculated upon cattle. Smith mentioned also certain morphological 
and cultural differences in bacilli from these two sources, and in the 
location and histology of the lesions in cattle produced by such 
bacilli. He did not conclude, however, that bovine bacilli could not 
produce disease in the human subject, but said : 

It seems to me that, accepting the clinical evidence on hand, bovine tubercu- 
losis may be transmitted to children when the body is overpowered by large 
numbers of bacilli, as in udder tuberculosis, or when certain unknown favorable 
conditions exist. 

Koch, however, in his address at the British Congress on Tubercu- 
losis, went far beyond this and maintained that " human tubercu- 



TUBERCULOSIS. 431 

losis differs from bovine and can not be transmitted to cattle." As 
to the susceptibility of man to bovine tuberculosis, he said it was not 
yet absolutely decided, but one was " nevertheless already at liberty 
to say that, if such a susceptibility really exists, the infection of 
human beings is but a very rare occurrence." He emphasizes this 
view in the following language : 

I should estimate the extent of infection by the milk and flesh of tubercular 
cattle and the butter made of their milk as hardly greater than that of heredi- 
tary transmission, and I therefore do not deem it advisable to take any 
measures against it. 

This conclusion was so radically different from the views of most 
experimenters and so out of harmony with facts which had ap- 
parently been demonstrated by others that it at once aroused opposi- 
tion in the congress, followed by the adoption of dissenting resolu- 
tions, and led to numerous investigations in various countries. 
Kock's conclusions were based upon his failure to produce tubercu- 
losis in cattle and other animals by inoculating them with tuberculous 
material of human origin and his success in causing progressive and 
fatal tuberculosis in the same kinds of animals when inoculated with 
tuberculous material of bovine origin. With such positiveness did 
he hold to the constant and specific difference between the human and 
bovine bacillus that he promulgated an experimental method of dis- 
criminating between them. Speaking of the etiology of intestinal 
tuberculosis in man, he said : 

Hitherto nobody could decide with certainty in such a case whether the 
tuberculosis of the intestine was of human or of animal origin. Now we can 
diagnose them. All that is necessary is to cultivate in pure culture the 
tubercle bacilli found in the tubercular material, and to ascertain whether they 
belong to bovine tuberculosis by inoculating cattle with them. For this pur- 
pose I recommend subcutaneous injection, which yields quite specially charac- 
teristic and convincing results. 

These important and comprehensive conclusions followed from a 
comparatively few experiments upon animals, and apparently no 
effort had been made to learn to what extent human tubercle bacilli 
may differ in their virulence for cattle or what grades of virulence 
there might be among bacilli of bovine origin. Vagedes had already 
shown that bacilli were sometimes present in human lesions which 
were as virulent as bovine bacilli, but his work was wholly ignored 
by Koch. 

A considerable number of investigators, including Chauveau, 
Vagedes, Ravenel, De Schweinitz, Mohler, De Jong, Delepine, Orth, 
Stenstrom, Fibiger and Jensen, Max Wolff, Nocard, Arloing, Behr- 
ing, Dean and Todd, Hamilton and Young, the German Tuberculosis 
Commission, and Theobald Smith, have found tubercle bacilli in the 
bodies of human beings who died of tuberculosis which proved to 



432 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

have about the same virulence for cattle as had the bacilli from 
bovine animals affected by the disease. 

Kossel, in a preliminary report, stated that the German commission 
had tested 7 cultures of tuberculosis from cattle and hogs — 4 from 
cattle and 3 from hogs. Two proved acutely fatal in cattle after 
eight to nine weeks ; 4 likewise produced a generalized tuberculosis, 
but which certainly had a more chronic course, while 1 of the cul- 
tures caused only an infiltration at the point of inoculation, with 
some caseous foci in the adjoining prescapular gland and in one of 
the mediastinal glands, and there was lacking the spreading of the 
tuberculosis over the entire body which they were accustomed to see 
after the injection of cultures of bovine tuberculosis. " Hence," says 
Kossel, " among bovine tuberculosis bacilli there can also occur differ- 
ences with regard to the virulence." 

The German commission also tested 39 different freshly made cul- 
tures from tuberculous disease in man. Nineteen did not produce the 
slightest symptoms in cattle; with 9 others the cattle exhibited after 
four months very minute foci in the prescapular glands, which were 
mostly encapsuled and showed no inclination to progress; with 7 
other cases there was somewhat more marked disease of the prescap- 
ular glands, but it did not go so far as a material spreading of the 
process to the adjoining glands. There were 4 cultures, however, 
which were more virulent and caused generalized tuberculosis in the 
cattle inoculated with them. 

It would appear, therefore, that hereafter everyone must admit 
that it is impossible always to tell the source of a culture of the 
tubercle bacillus by its effect when it is inoculated upon cattle. One 
of the bovine cultures failed to produce generalized tuberculosis in 
cattle, and some of the human cultures did produce it in such ani- 
mals. Moreover, while some of the human cultures caused no disease 
at all, others led to the development of minute foci in the prescapular 
glands, and still others to somewhat more marked disease of the 
glands. There were, consequently, four degrees of virulence noted 
in these 39 cultures of bacilli from human sources and three degrees 
of virulence in the 7 cultures from animal. 

Now, if we accept the views of Koch as to the specific difference 
between human and bovine tubercle bacilli, and that the human bacilli 
produce only localized lesions in cattle, while bovine bacilli produce 
generalized lesions in them, must we not conclude that the one non- 
virulent bovine culture was in reality of human origin, and that 
the animal from which it was obtained had been infected from 
man ? This is a logical deduction, but reverses the dictum laid down 
at London that human tuberculosis is not transmissible to cattle. 
Again, how are we to explain the human cultures of medium viru- 
lence? Are they human bacilli which, for some unknown reason, are 



TUBERCULOSIS. 433 

increasing in virulence and approaching the activity of the bovine 
bacillus, or are they really bovine bacilli which have multiplied in 
the human body until their virulence has become attenuated? In 
whatever manner these questions are decided it would seem that the 
findings of the German commission, instead of supporting Koch's 
views that we can decide with certainty by the inoculation of cattle 
as to the source of any given bacillus, really show that this method 
of diagnosis is extremely uncertain in the present condition of our 
knowledge. 

It is definitely admitted that 4 of the human cultures caused gen- 
eralized tuberculosis in cattle ; Kossel suggest, however, that it may be 
possible that the bacilli in cases of human tuberculosis under certain 
circumstances can likewise attain a very high pathogenic activity 
for cattle without being for that reason bovine bacilli. Undoubtedly 
the German commission is confronting the two horns of a dilemma, 
either one of which is fatal to the views of Koch as stated with such 
positiveness at London. If we accept this suggestion thrown out by 
Kossel, we must conclude that Koch was wrong in his claim that 
human tuberculosis can not be transmitted to cattle, and thus with 
one blow we destroy the entire experimental support which he had 
for his argument before the British Congress on Tuberculosis. If, 
on the other hand, we accept the conclusion which follows from 
the principle laid down by Koch for the discrimination between 
human and bovine bacilli, and which appears to be favored by Kossel, 
we must admit that bovine tuberculosis is an extremely important 
factor in the etiology of human tuberculosis. Of the 39 cases of 
human tuberculosis tested, 4, or more than 10 per cent, were virulent 
for cattle and would be classified as of bovine origin ; however, these 
4 cases, were all found among the 16 cases of tuberculosis in children 
which the commission investigated ; hence it is plain that 25 per cent 
of the cases tested of tuberculosis in children would by Koch's method 
be classified as of bovine origin. 

In the Bureau of Animal Industry two distinct lines of experi- 
ments have been carried on, in order that one might serve as a 
check against the other. There has been, however, no discrepancy 
in the results. De Schweinitz, in the Biochemic Division, Bureau 
of Animal Industry, isolated 9 cultures from human tuberculosis. 
Two were derived from human sputum, 3 from cases of generalized 
tuberculosis in adults, and 4 from cases of generalized tuberculosis 
in children. By comparing these cultures with a newly isolated 
virulent culture of bovine tuberculosis, there were found among 
them 2 cultures from children which were identical in their cul- 
tural and morphological characters with the bovine bacillus. These 
cultures also killed rabbits and guinea pigs in as short a time as 
did the bovine bacillus. Hogs which were inoculated subcutane- 
33071°— 16 28 



434 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ously with these 2 cultures from children died of generalized tuber- 
culosis. Two calves weighing more than 300 pounds each were 
inoculated subcutaneously with these virulent human cultures, and 
as a result developed generalized tuberculosis. A yearling heifer 
inoculated with 1 of the cultures showed generalized tuberculosis 
when killed three months after inoculation. Both the cattle and 
the hogs had been tested with tuberculin and found to be free from 
tuberculosis before the inoculations were made. It is important 
to observe in this connection that 2 out of 4, or 50 per cent, of the 
cultures obtained from cases of generalized tuberculosis in children 
proved virulent for cattle. 

Mohler, working in the Pathological Division, Bureau of Animal 
Industry, has obtained 3 very virulent cultures of tubercle bacilli 
from the human subject. A goat inoculated subcutaneously with 
1 of these cultures died in 37 days with miliary tuberculosis of the 
lungs involving the axillary and prescapular glands. This bacillus 
was obtained from the mesenteric gland of a boy. Of still greater 
interest is a bacillus isolated by Mohler from human sputum. A 
goat inoculated subcutaneously with a culture of this germ died in 
95 days of pulmonary tuberculosis. A cat inoculated in the same 
manner died in 23 days of generalized tuberculosis. A rabbit simi- 
larly inoculated died in 59 days of pulmonary tuberculosis. An- 
other rabbit inoculated with a bovine culture for comparison lived 
.10 days longer than the one inoculated with this sputum germ. 
Mohler also inoculated subcutaneously a 1 -year-old heifer with a 
culture derived from the tuberculosis mesenteric gland of a boy 4 
years of age. This culture was always refractory in its growth under 
artificial conditions, and the bacilli were short, stubby rods, corre- 
sponding in appearance with the bovine type. At the autopsy, held 
127 days after the inoculation, the general condition was seen to be 
poor and unthrifty, and large, hard tumors were found at the points 
of inoculation. On the right side the swelling measured 3| by 5 
inches, and the corresponding lympth gland was 2f inches long by 
If inches in diameter. This gland contained numerous calcareous 
foci; one at the apex was an inch in diameter. The lesions on the 
left shoulder of the animal were very similar to those found on the 
right side, but the dimensions of the tumor were slightly less. The 
lungs presented an irregular mass of tuberculous nodules, and 7 
or 8 grapelike nodules were seen on the parietal pleura. Bronchial 
and mediastinal lymph glands contained numerous tuberculous foci, 
and the pericardium, peritoneum, spleen, and liver also were affected. 

In order to throw some light, if possible, upon the morphological 
constancy of the different types of tubercle bacilli, Mohler has made 
comparative studies of bacilli from various sources, and which had 
been passed through various species of animals, by making the cul- 



TUBERCULOSIS. 435 

tures upon dog serum after the method described by Theobald Smith. 
Some important results have been obtained. One culture of human 
bacilli which had morphological and cultural peculiarities similar to 
those of the bovine bacillus, and which produced only local lesions in 
cattle, was passed through a series of five cats. It was then found to 
be completely changed in its morphological charactres, the rods being 
elongated, slender, more or less beaded, and entirely of the human 
type. Far from decreasing in virulence, however, as might be ex- 
pected from its morphological appearance, this bacillus had so in- 
creased in its pathogenic activity that it produced generalized tuber- 
culosis in a cow. This cow was inoculated subcutaneously in front 
of each shoulder with 2 cubic centimeters of a salt-solution emulsion 
of the tuberculous omentum of the last cat of the series. The cow 
rapidly lost flesh, had a temperature of 104° F., with the point of in- 
oculation and adjacent glands greatly swollen. The autopsy re- 
vealed generalized tuberculosis, involving the lungs, mediastinal 
glands, spleen, liver, and kidneys. Tubercle bacilli of the bovine 
type obtained from the mesenteric glands of a sheep, hog, and cow 
were similarly transformed in their morphological appearance after 
being passed through a series of cats and recovered on dog serum. 
These bacilli also increased in virulence, as the last cat in the series 
invariably succumbed in a shorter time than the first of the series. 

These experiments and observations indicate that the types of 
tubercle bacilli are very inconstant, and that under suitable condi- 
tions they readily change both in morphology and in virulence. A 
similar conclusion was reached by other investigators in working 
with the avian and piscine types of tubercle bacilli several years ago, 
and was reasonably to have been expected with the human and bovine 
types. 

It must be plain to all, from these recent developments, that too 
much has been made of the slight differences in cultural character- 
istics, in morphology, and in virulence which have been observed in 
some cases in comparing the human and the bovine bacilli. The 
observations were interesting, and it was important that they be 
followed up until their significance was made entirely clear, but it 
was an almost unpardonable error, from a sanitary point of view, 
to promulgate sweeping generalizations calculated to arrest and 
abolish important measures for preventing human tuberculosis before 
the soundness of these generalizations had been established by a 
thorough course of experimentation. 

When Koch said in the British Congress on Tuberculosis that he 
should estimate the extent of infection by the milk and flesh of tuber- 
culous cattle and the butter made of their milk as hardly greater than 
that of hereditary transmission, and that he therefore did not deem 
it advisable to take any measures against it, he went far beyond what 



436 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

was justified by any experiments or observations which he reported, 
and he did a great deal of harm, which will be manifested for years 
to come, to those who endeavor to guard the human race from the 
dangers of animal tuberculosis. The researches which have been 
alluded to make these dangers more definite and certain than they 
have appeared before, and sanitarians should therefore most ear- 
nestly endeavor to counteract the erroneous and harmful impression 
which was made by Koch's address at London and his subsequent 
address at the International Conference on Tuberculosis at Berlin. 

VARIOLA. 

Variola of cattle, commonly known as " cowpox," is a contagious 
disease of cattle which manifests its presence through an elevation of 
temperature, a shrinkage in milk production, and by the appearance 
of characteristic, pustular eruptions, especially upon the teats and 
udders of dairy cows. Although this is a contagious disease, strictly 
speaking, it is so universally harmless and benign in its course that 
it is robbed of the terrors which usually accompany all spreading 
diseases, and is allowed to enter a herd of cattle, run its course, and 
disappear without exciting any particular notice. 

The contagion of cowpox does not travel through the air from 
animal to animal, but is transfused only by actual contact of the 
contagious principle with the skin of some susceptible animal. It 
may be carried in this manner, not alone from cattle to cattle, but 
horses, sheep, goats, and man may readily contract the disease when- 
ever suitable conditions attend their inoculation. 

An identical disease frequently appears upon horses, attacking 
their heels, and thence extending upward along the leg, producing, as 
it progresses, inflammation and swelling of the skin, followed later 
by pustules, which soon rupture, discharging a sticky, disagreeable 
secretion. Other parts of the body are frequently affected in like 
manner, especially in the region of the head, where the eruptions may 
appear upon lips and nostrils, or upon the mucous surfaces of the 
nasal cavities, mouth, or eyes. 

Variola of the horse is readily transmitted to cattle, if both are 
cared for by the same attendant, and, conversely, variola of cattle 
may be carried from the cow to the horse on the hands of a person 
who has been milking a cow affected with the disease. 

The method of vaccination with material derived from the erup- 
tions of cowpox as a safeguard against the ravages of smallpox in 
members of the human family is well known. The immunity which 
such vaccination confers upon the human subject has led many 
writers to assert that cowpox is simply a modified form of smallpox, 
whose harmless attack upon the human system is owing to a certain 
attenuation derived during its passages through the system of the 



VARIOLA. 437 

cow or horse. The results of numerous experiments which have been 
carried out for the purpose of determining the relationship existing 
between variola of the human and bovine families seem to show, 
however, that although possessing many similar characteristics, they 
are nevertheless distinct, and that in spite of repeated inoculations 
from cattle to man, and vice versa, no transformation in the real 
character of the disease ever takes place. 

Symptoms. — The disease appears in four to seven days after 
natural infection, or may evince itself in two or three days as the 
result of artificial inoculation. Young milch cows are most sus- 
ceptible to an attack, but older cows, bulls, or young cattle are by no 
means immune. The attack causes a slight rise in temperature, which 
is soon followed by the appearance of reddened, inflamed areas, prin- 
cipally upon the teats and udder, and at times on the abdominal skin 
or the skin of the inner surface of the thighs. In a few cases the 
fkin of the throat and jaws has been found similarly involved. If 
the affected parts are examined on the second day after the establish- 
ment of the inflammation numerous pale-red nodules will be found, 
which gradually expand until, within a few days, they reach a diam- 
eter of one-half inch or even larger. At this period the tops of the 
nodules become transformed into vesicles which are depressed in the 
center and contain a pale, serous fluid. They usually reach their 
maturity by the tenth day of the course of the disease and are then 
the size of a bean. From this time the contents of the vesicles become 
purulent, which requires about three days, when the typical pox 
pustule is present, consisting of a swelling with broad, reddened base, 
within which is an elevated, conical abscess varying from the size of 
a pea to that of a hazlenut. 

The course of the disease after the full maturity of the pustule is 
rapid if outside interference has not caused a premature rupture of 
the small abscess at the apex of the swelling. The pustules gradu- 
ally become darker colored and drier until nothing remains but a 
thick scab, which at last falls off, leaving only a slight, whitish scar 
behind. The total duration of the disease covers some 20 days in 
each animal, and owing to the slow spread of the infection from 
animal to animal, many weeks may elapse before a stable can be fully 
freed from it. The fallen scabs and crusts may retain their conta- 
gious properties for several days when mixed with litter and bedding 
upon the floor of the stable, and at any time during this period they 
are capable of producing new outbreaks should fresh cattle be brought 
into the stalls and thus come into actual contact with them. Again, 
the pustules may appear, one after another, on a single animal, in 
which case the duration of the disease is materially lengthened. 

Treatment. — In herds of cattle that regularly receive careful han- 
dling, no special treatment will be found necessary beyond the appli- 



438 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

cation of softening and disinfecting agents to such vesicles upon the 
teats as may have become ruptured by the hands of the milker. Car- 
bolized vaseline or iodoform ointment will be found well suited to 
this work. In more persistent cases it may be found desirable to use 
a milking tube in order to prevent the repeated opening of the pus- 
tules during the operation of milking. Washing the sores twice 
daily with a weak solution of zinc chlorid (2^ per cent solution) has 
been found to assist in checking the inflammation and to cleanse and 
heal the parts by its germicidal action. When the udder is hard, 
swollen, and painful, support it by a bandage and foment frequently 
with hot water. If calves are allowed to suckle the cows the pustules 
become confluent, and the ulcerations may extend up into the teat, 
causing garget and ruining the whole quarter of the udder. 

As young cows are most susceptible to variola, the milker must 
exercise constant patience with these affected animals so long as their 
teats or udders are sore and tender, else the patient may contract 
vicious habits while resisting painful handling. The flow of milk is 
usually lessened as soon as the fever becomes established, but is again 
normal with the return of perfect health. 

The practice of thorough cleanliness in handling or milking 
affected cattle may, in many instances, prevent the dissemination 
of the trouble among the healthy portion of the herd, but even the 
greatest care may prove insufficient to check the spread until it has 
attacked each animal of the herd in turn. 

ACTINOMYCOSIS (LUMPY JAW). 

[Pis. XXXIX-XLI.] 

Actinomycosis, also known as lumpy jaw, big jaw, wooden tongue, 
etc., is a chronic infectious disease .characterized by the formation 
of peculiar tumors in various regions of the body, more particularly 
the head, and is due to the specific action of a certain fungus (acti- 
nomyces). This fungus is an organism which occurs in the tissues 
in the form of rosettes, and it has therefore been termed the " ray 
fungus." The disease is not directly transmitted from one animal 
to another, but it seems apparent that the fungus is conveyed into 
the tissues by various feedstuffs through slight wounds of the 
mucous membrane of the mouth, decayed teeth, or during the shed- 
ding of milk teeth. The ray fungus is found in nature vegetated on 
grasses, on the awns of barley, the spears of oats, and on other 
grains. Quantities of the fungi have been found between the vege- 
table fibers of barley which had penetrated the gums of cattle and on 
the awns of grain embedded in the tongues of cows. 

Although actinomycotic tumors on cattle had been the object of 
study for many years, it was not until 1877 that the constant presence 
of actinomyces was pointed out by Bollinger, of Munich, and since 



ACTINOMYCOSIS. 439 

that time considered the cause. This fungus was observed in these 
tumors as early as 1860 by Rivolta, and by others subsequently, with- 
out having been suspected as causing them. 

Since Bollinger's publication much work has been done, many 
observations made, and many hitherto obscure disease processes 
brought into relation with this fungus. Furthermore, a similar dis- 
ease in man was first definitely shown to be associated with the same 
fungus in 1878 by Israel, and in the following year Ponfick pointed 
out that the disease described by Bollinger in animals and that 
found by Israel in man were due to the same cause ; that is, that the 
fungi described by these observers were one and the same. 

The tumors and abscesses wherever they may be are all found to 
be the same in origin by the presence of the actinomyces fungus. 
When they are incised, a very close scrutiny with the naked eye, or, 
at most, a hand lens, will reveal the presence of minute grains which 
vary from a pale-yellow to a sulphur-yellow color. They may be 
very abundant or so few as to be overlooked. They are embedded 
in the soft tissue composing the tumor or in the pus of the abscess. 
"With a needle they are easily lifted out from the tissue, and then they 
appear as roundish masses about one-half millimeter (^ inch) in 
diameter. To anyone familiar with the use of a microscope the 
recognition of these grains or particles without any previous prepa- 
ration is a comparatively easy task. 

When examined in the fresh condition under a microscope magni- 
fying up to 250 diameters the general structure is made out without 
much difficulty. These grains consist of collections of minute, round- 
ish masses. Their outer surface is made up of club-shaped bodies all 
radiating from the center of the mass (see PI. XXXIX, fig. 2) , some- 
what like a rosette. If the fungus is crushed, the interior is found 
made up of bundles of very fine filaments, which are probably con- 
tinuous into the club-shaped bodies. The addition of a dilute solution 
of caustic soda or potash greatly aids the examination, as it re- 
moves the layer of cells adhering to the fungus, which obscures the 
structure. Now and then these grains are found to be in a calcified 
condition. The exterior is incrusted in lime salts, which are dis- 
solved by adding some weak dilute acid, like acetic acid. Only by 
this procedure can the fungus be definitely recognized when in a 
mummified condition. 

These are the bodies whose presence causes sufficient irritation in 
the tissues into which they find their way to set up inflammatory 
growths. These growths increase as the fungus continues to multiply 
until they reach enormous dimensions, if the affected animal is per- 
mitted to live long enough. The true nature of this parasite is not 
yet definitely settled, although many excellent observers have occu- 
pied themselves with it, According to earlier observers, it is a true 



440 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

fungus. Later ones are inclined to place it among the higher bac- 
teria. Further investigations will be necessary to clear up this 
subject. 

Whatever the situation of the disease caused by actinomyces may 
be, its nature is fundamentally the same and peculiar to the fungus. 
The pathological details which make this statement clear can not be 
entered upon in this place, nor would they be of any practical value 
to the farmer. We will simply dwell upon a few obvious characters. 

The consistency of the tumor varies in different situations accord- 
ing to the quantity of fibrous or connective tissue present. When 
very little of this is present the tumor is of a very soft consistency. 
As the quantity of connective tissue is increased the tumor is firmer 
and of a more honeycombed appearance. The individual actino- 
myces colonies are lodged in the spaces or interstices formed by the 
mesh work of the connective tissue. There they are surrounded by 
a mantle of cellular elements which fill up the spaces. By scraping 
the cut surface of such a tumor these cell masses inclosing the fungi 
come away, and the latter may be seen as pale-yellow or sulphur- 
yellow specks, as described above. 

Location of the disease. — In cattle the disease process may be 
located both externally, where it is readily detected, and in internal 
organs. Its preferred seat is on the bones of the lower and upper 
jaw, in the parotid salivary gland in the angle of the jaw, and in the 
region of the throat. It may also appear under the skin in different 
parts of the body. Internally it may attack the tongue and appear 
in the form of a tumor in the mouth, pharynx, or larynx. It may 
cause extensive disease of the lungs, more rarely of the digestive tract. 

It appears, furthermore, that in certain districts or countries the 
disease seems by preference to attack certain parts. Thus in Eng- 
land actinomycosis of the tongue is most prevalent. In Denmark 
the soft parts of the head are most prone to disease, while in Russia 
the lips are the usual seat. In certain parts of Germany actinomy- 
cotic tumors of the throat (pharynx), in other diseases of the jaw- 
bones, are most frequently encountered. 

A description of actinomycosis of the jaw (lumpy jaw) and of the 
tongue has already been given in a previous chapter, and hence they 
will be dealt with here only very briefly. When the disease attacks 
the soft parts of the head a rather firm swelling appears, in which 
are formed one or more smaller projecting tumors, varying from 
the size of a nut to that of an egg. These push their way outward 
and finally break through the skin as small, reddish, funguslike 
bodies covered with thin sloughs. Or the original swelling, in place 
of enlarging in the manner described, may become transformed into 
an abscess which finally bursts to discharge creamy pus. The abscess 



ACTINOMYCOSIS. 441 

cavity, however, does not disappear, but is soon filled with fungus- 
like growths, which force their way outward through the opening. 

When the tumors are situated within the cavity of the pharynx 
they have broken through from some gland, perhaps beneath the 
mucous membrane, where the disease first appeared, and hang or 
project into the cavity of the pharynx, either as pendulous masses 
with slender stems or as tumors with broad bases. Their position 
may be such as to interfere with swallowing and with breathing. 
In either case serious symptoms will soon appear. 

The invasion of the bones of the jaws by actinomycosis must be 
regarded as one of the most serious forms of the disease. (Pis. 
XXXIX, XL.) It may start in the marrow of the bone and by a 
slow extension gradually undermine the entire thickness of the bone 
itself. The growth may continue outward, and after working its 
way through muscle and skin finally break through and appear ex- 
ternally as stinking fungoid growths. The growth may at the same 
time work its way inward and appear in the mouth. The disease 
may also begin in the periosteum, or covering of the bone, and de- 
stroy the bone from without inward. 

Actinomycosis of the lungs is occasionally observed, and it is not 
improbable that at times it has been mistaken for tuberculosis. The 
actinomyces grains are, however, easily observed if the diseased tissue 
is carefully examined. The changes in the lungs as they appear to 
the naked eye vary considerably from case to case. Thus in one 
animal the lungs were affected as in ordinary bronchopneumonia as 
to the location, extent, and appearance of the disease process. The 
affected lobes had a dark-red flesh appearance, with yellowish areas 
sprinkled in here and there. (See PL XLI, figs. 1, 2.) These latter 
areas were the seat of multiplication of the actinomyces fungus. In 
another case, of which only a small portion of the lungs was sent 
to the laboratory, they were completely transformed into a uni- 
formly grayish mass, very soft and pulpy to the touch, and appear- 
ing like very soft and moist dough. (PI. XLI, fig. 3.) The ac- 
tinomyces grains were exceedingly abundant in this tissue, and 
appeared when the tissue was incised as minute sulphur-yellow grains, 
densely sprinkled through the tissue, which readily came away and 
adhered to the knife blade. In still another case a portion of the 
lung tissue was converted into large, soft masses from 1 to 3 inches 
in diameter, each partly inclosed in very dense connective tissue. 
These soft, grayish-yellow masses likewise resembled moist dough in 
their consistency, and the actinomyces grains, though neither very 
distinct nor at all abundant, were easily fished out and indentified as 
such. A portion of this growth, which was as large as a child's head, 
was converted into an abscess filled with creamy semiliquid pus. 



442 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

This case differed from the preceding in that all appearance of 
lung tissue had disappeared from the diseased mass. Only on the 
exterior the lung tissue could be recognized, although even there it 
had been largely converted into very dense, whitish connective tissue 
inclosing the fungoid growth. In the other case the external form 
of the lung and the shape and outline of the lobules were preserved, 
but the lung tissue itself was not recognizable as such. In the case 
first mentioned the changes were still less marked, and actinomycosis 
would not have been suspected by a simple inspection. These few 
illustrations suffice to show that antinomycosis of the lungs may 
appear under quite different forms, and that the nature of the disease 
can be accurately determined only by finding the fungus itself. 
Barely actinomycosis attacks the body externally in places other 
than the head and neck. Crookshank describes the case of a bull 
in which the flank was attacked and subsequently the scrotum became 
diseased. A large portion of the skin of the flank was destroyed 
and covered with a leathery crust. When this was pulled away the 
pus beneath it showed the actinomyces grains to the naked eye. 

Actinomycosis may also involve the udder, the spermatic cord of 
castrated animals, the vagina, and, when it becomes generalized, the 
brain, liver, spleen, and muscular tissue. 

Actinomycosis may in some cases be confounded with tuberculosis. 
The diagnosis does not offer any difficulties, since the presence of the 
actinomyces fungus at once removes any existing doubts. As has 
already been intimated, these grains, simulating sulphur balls, are 
visible to the naked eye, and their nature is readily determined with 
the aid of a microscope. 

The course of the disease is quite slow. As the tumors grow they 
may interfere with the natural functions of the body. According to 
their situation, mastication, rumination, or breathing may be inter- 
fered with, and in this way the animal may become emaciated. Acti- 
nomycosis of the jawbones leads to destruction of the teeth and 
impedes the movements necessary to chewing the feed. Similarly, 
when the disease attacks the soft parts of the head obstructions may 
arise in the mouth by an inward growth of the tumor. If tumors 
exist in the pharynx they may partially obstruct the movements 
necessary to breathing, or close the air passages and cause partial 
suffocation. Actinomycosis of the tongue, in interfering with the 
many and varied movements of this important organ, is also a serious 
matter. There is no reason to suppose that the localized disease 
interferes with the general health in any other way than indirectly 
until internal organs, such as the lungs, become involved. 

A very small proportion of the cases may recover spontaneously, 
the tumors being encysted or undergoing calcification. In most cases 



ACTINOMYCOSIS. 443 

the disease yields readily to proper treatment, and about 75 per cent 
of the affected animals may be cured. 

Prevention. — The question as to how and where animals take this 
disease is one concerning which we are still in the stage of conjecture, 
because so far we possess very little information concerning the life 
history of the actinomyces itself. The quite unanimous view of all 
observers is that animals become infected from the feed. The fungus 
is lodged upon the plants and in some way enters the tissues of the 
head, the lungs, and the digestive tract, where it sets up its peculiar 
activity. It is likewise generally believed that the fungus is, as it 
were, inoculated into the affected part. This inoculation is per- 
formed by the sharp and pointed parts of plants which penetrate 
the mucous membrane and carry the fungus with them. The disease 
is therefore inoculable rather than contagious. The mere presence 
of the diseased animal will not give rise to disease in healthy animals 
unless the actinomyces grains pass directly from the diseased into 
some wound or abrasion of the healthy or else drop upon the feed 
which is consumed by the healthy. Not only are these views deduci- 
ble from clinical observation, but they have been proved by the posi- 
tive inoculation of calves and smaller animals with actinomyces. 
The danger therefore of the presence of actinomyces for healthy 
animals is a limited one. Nevertheless an animal affected with this 
disease should not be allowed to go at large or run with other ani- 
mals. If the fungus is being scattered by discharging growths we 
certainly can not state at this stage of our knowledge that other 
animals may not be infected by such distribution, and we must 
assume, until more positive information is at hand, that this actually 
occurs. 

It is, however, the opinion of the majority of authorities that when 
actinomycosis appears among a large number of animals they all 
contract it in the same way from the feed. Much speculation has 
therefore arisen whether any particular plant or group of plants is 
the source of the infection and whether any special condition of the 
soil favors it. Very little positive information is at hand on these 
questions. It would be very desirable for those who live in localities 
where this disease is prevalent to make statistical and other observa- 
tions on the occurrence of the disease with reference to the season of 
the year, the kind of feed, the nature of the soil (whether swampy or 
dry, recently reclaimed, or cultivated for a long time) upon which the 
animals are pastured or upon which the feed is grown. 

It is highly probable that such investigations will lead to an under- 
standing of the source of the fungus and the means for checking 
the spread of the disease itself. Veterinarian Jensen, of Denmark, 
made some observations upon an extensive outbreak of actinomycosis 



444 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

a number of years ago which led him to infer that the animals were 
inoculated by eating barley straw harvested from pieces of ground 
just reclaimed from the sea. While the animals remained unaffected 
so long as they pastured on this ground or ate the hay obtained from 
it, they became diseased after eating the straw of cereals from the 
same territory. Others have found that cattle grazing upon low 
pastures along the banks of streams and subject to inundations are 
more prone to the disease. It has also been observed that feed 
gathered from such grounds, even after prolonged drying, may give 
rise to the disease. Actinomycosis is not infrequent in cattle in the 
southwest and is general^ supposed to be the result of eating the 
prickly fruit of the cactus plant, causing wounds of the mucous 
membrane and subsequent infection with the parasite. Much addi- 
tional information of a similar kind must be forthcoming before the 
source and manner of infection in this disease and its dependence 
upon external conditions will be known. It is not at all improbable 
that they may vary considerably from place to place. 

Treatment. — Until recently this has been almost entirely surgical. 
When the tumors are external and attached to soft parts only, an 
early removal may lead to recovery. This, of course, can be under- 
taken only by a trained veterinarian, especially as the various parts 
of the head and neck contain important vessels, nerves, and ducts 
which should be injured as little as possible in any operation. Unless 
the tumor is completely removed it will reappear. Disease of the 
jawbones is at best a very serious matter and treatment is liable to 
be of no avail. 

In March, 1892, an important contribution to our knoweldge of 
this subject was made by Nocard, of the Alfort Veterinary School, 
in a communication to the French Central Society of Veterinary 
Medicine. He showed clearly that the actinomycosis of the tongue, 
a disease which appears to be quite common in Germany, and is there 
known as " wooden tongue," could be quickly and permanently cured 
by the administration of iodid of potassium. Nocard calls attention 
to the success of Thomassen, of Utrecht, who recommended this treat- 
ment so long ago as 1885, and who has since treated more than 80 
cases, all of which have been cured. A French veterinarian, God- 
bille, has used the same remedy in a number of cases of actinomy- 
cosis in the tongue, all of which have been cured. Nocard also gives 
details of a case which was cured Dy himself. 

All the cases referred to were of actinomycosis of the tongue, and 
no one appears to have attempted the cure of actinomycosis of the 
jaw until it was undertaken by Norgaard, of the Bureau of Animal 
Industry. In April, 1892, he selected a young steer in fair condition 
which had a tumor on the ja w measuring 15^ inches in circumference 
and from which a discharge had already been established. This 



ACTINOMYCOSIS. 445 

animal was treated with iodic! of potassium, and the result was a 
complete cure. 

The iodid of potassium is given in doses of 1^ and 2^ drams once 
a day, dissolved in water, and administered as a drench. The dose 
should vary somewhat with the size of the animal and with the 
effects that are produced. If the dose is sufficiently large signs of 
iodism appear in the course of a week or 10 days. The skin becomes 
scurfy, there is weeping from the eyes, catarrh of the nose, and loss 
of appetite. When these symptoms appear the medicine may be 
suspended for a few days and afterward resumed in the same dose. 
The cure requires from three to six weeks' treatment. Some animals, 
generally the ones which show no signs of iodism, do not improve 
under treatment with iodid of potassium. 

If there is no sign of improvement after the animals have been 
treated four or five weeks, and the medicine has been given in as 
large doses as appear desirable, it is an indication that the particular 
animal is not susceptible to the curative effects of the drug, and the 
treatment may therefore be abandoned. 

It is not, however, advisable to administer iodid of potassium to 
milch cows, as it will considerably reduce the milk secretion or stop 
it altogether. Furthermore, a great part of the drug is excreted 
through the milk, making the milk unfit for use. It should not be 
given to animals in advanced pregnancy, as there is danger of pro- 
ducing abortion. 

The best results are obtained by pushing the drug until its effect 
is seen. The many tests to which this treatment has been subjected 
have proved, with few exceptions, its specific curative value. In 
addition to this the tumor should be painted externally with either 
the tincture of iodin or Lugol's solution, or the drug should be 
injected subcutaneously into the tumor. 

Godbille has given as much as 4 drams of potassium iodid in one 
day to a steer, decreasing the dose one-fourth dram each day until 
the dose was 1£ drams, which was maintained until the twelfth day 
of treatment, when the animal appeared to be entirely cured. 

Nocard gave the first day 1^ drams in one dose to a cow ; the sec- 
ond and succeeding days a dose of 1 dram in the morning and 
evening, in each case before feeding. This treatment was continued 
for 10 days, when the animal was cured. 

Actinomycosis and the public health. — The interest which is shown 
concerning this cattle disease is largely due to the fact that the same 
disease attacks human beings. Its slow progress, its tendency to 
remain restricted to certain localities, and the absence of any directly 
contagious properties have thus far not aroused any anxiety in other 
countries as to its influence on the cattle industry, not even to the 
point of placing it among the infectious diseases of which statistics 



446 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

are annually published. Its possible bearing on public health has, 
however, given the disease a place in the public mind which it hardly 
deserves. 

It has already been stated that the actinomyces fungus found in 
human disease is considered by authorities the same as that occurring 
in bovine affections. It is therefore of interest to conclude this 
article with a brief discussion of the disease in man and its relation 
to actinomycosis in cattle. 

In man the location of the disease process corresponds fairly well 
to that in cattle. The majority of cases which have been reported 
in different parts of the world — and they are now rather numerous — 
indicate disease of the face. The skin, tongue, or the jawbones may 
become affected, and by a very slow process it may extend downward 
upon the neck and even into the cavity of the chest. In many cases 
the teeth have been found in a state of more or less advanced decay 
and ulceration. In a few cases disease of the lungs was observed 
without coexisting disease of the bones or soft parts of the head. In 
such cases the fungus must have been inhaled. The disease of the 
lungs after a time extends upon the chest wall, where it may corrode 
the ribs and work its way through the muscles and the skin. An 
abscess is thus formed discharging pus containing actinomyces grains. 
Disease of the digestive organs caused by this fungus has also been 
observed in a few instances. 

Granting the identity of the disease in man and cattle, the question 
has been raised whether cattle are responsible for its occurrence in 
man. Any transmission of the infectious agent may be conceived of 
as taking place during the life of the animal and from the meat after 
slaughter. That human beings have contracted actinomycosis by 
coming in contact with diseased cattle is not shown by the cases that 
have been reported, for the occupations of most of the patients did 
not bring them into any relation whatever with cattle. While the 
possibility of such direct transmission is not denied, nevertheless it 
must be considered as extremely rare. Practically the same position 
is maintained at present by most authorities as regards the trans- 
mission of the disease to man by eating meat. Israel, who has studied 
this question carefully, found the disease in Jews who never ate pork, 1 
and who likewise were protected from bovine actinomycosis by the 
rigorous meat inspection practiced by that race. Furthermore, it 
must be borne in mind that actinomycosis is a local disease, causing 
great destruction of tissue where the fungus multiplies, but which 
very rarely becomes generally disseminated over the body from the 
original disease focus. The fungus is found only in places where the 
disease process is manifest to the eye or becomes so in a very short 
time after the lodgment of the fungus. Only the greatest negligence 

1 Hogs are subject to actinomycosis. 



ANTHRAX. 447 

would allow the actually diseased parts to be sold and consumed. 
Finally, this parasite, like all others, would be destroyed in the proc- 
ess of cooking. Most authorities thus do not believe that actinomy- 
cosis in man is directly traceable to the disease in animals, but are of 
the opinion that both man and animals are infected from a third 
source, which has already been discussed above. How fai these views 
may be modified by further and more telling investigations of the 
parasite fungus itself no one can predict. There are still wide gaps 
in our knowledge, and the presentation above simply summarizes the 
prevailing views, from which there are dissenters, of course. An 
attempt to give the views of both sides on this question would neces- 
sitate the summarizing and impartial discussion of all the experi- 
ments thus far made — a task entirely beyond the scope of the present, 
work. 

Whether an animal affected with actinomycosis should be used for 
human food after all diseased organs and tissues have been thoroughly 
removed is a question the answer to which depends on a variety of 
circumstances. Among these may be mentioned the thoroughness of 
the meat inspection itself, the extent of the disease, and the general 
condition of the animal affected. 

The Federal meat-inspection regulations require that carcasses of 
animals showing generalized actinomycosis shall be condemned. 
If carcasses are in a well-nourished condition, showing uncompli- 
cated localized lesions of actinomycosis, they may be passed after 
the infected organs or parts have been removed and condemned. 
When the disease of the jaw is slight, strictly localized, and without 
pus formation, fistulous tracts, or lymph-gland involvement, the 
tongue, if free from disease, may be passed. The heads affected 
with actinomycosis (lumpy jaw), including the tongue, shall be 
condemned, except that when the lesions in the jaw are strictly local- 
ized and slight in extent, the tongue may be passed, if free from 
disease. 

ANTHRAX. 

Anthrax or charbon may be defined as an infectious disease which 
is caused by specific bacteria, known as anthrax bacilli, and which is 
more or less restricted by conditions of soil and moisture to definite 
geographical localities. While it is chiefly limited to cattle and sheep, 
it may be transmitted to goats, horses, cats, and certain kinds of 
game. Smaller animals, such as mice, rabbits, and guinea pigs, 
speedily succumb to inoculation. Dogs and hogs are slightly sus- 
ceptible, while fowls are practically immune. The variety of domes- 
ticated animals which it may attack renders it one - of the most 
dreaded scourges of animal life. It may even attack man. Of this 
more will be stated further on. 



ACTINOMYCOSIS (LUMPY JAW). 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate XXXIX. Actinomycosis. (From Johne's Encyklopiidie d. gesammt. 
Thierheilkunde. ) 
Fig. 1. Actinomycosis of the jaw. The lower jawbone has been extensively 

eaten away by the disease. 
Fig. 2. Actinomyces fungus from a tumor of the jawbone in cattle, magni- 
fied 550 times. 

Plate XL. Actinomycosis of the jaw. (Reduced one-half. From Johne's 
Encyklopiidie d. gesammt. Thierheilkunde.) The lower jaw is sawn 
through transversely, i. e., from right to ieft, and shows the disease 
within the jawbone itself ; a, within the mouth, showing the papillae on 
the mucous membrane of the cheek ; b, front view of a molar tooth ; 
c, the skin covering the lower surface of the jawbone ; d, the jawbone 
hollowed out and enlarged by the formation of cavities within it, which 
are filled with the soft growth of the actinomycotic tumor. The section 
makes it appear as if the bone were broken into fragments and these 
forced apart ; e, a portion of the tumor which has broken through the 
bone and the skin and appears as a tumor on the cheek. The little 
roundish masses represent the granulomata (minute tumors) in which 
the fungus vegetates. 

Plate XLI. Actinomycosis of the lungs. 

Fig. 1. Transverse section of the ventral lobe of the right lung, from a case 
studied in the laboratory. The yellowish dots represent the places 
where the actinomyces fungus is lodged. The larger yellowish patches 
are produced by the confluence of a number of isolated centers. The 
entire lobe is of a dark flesh-red color, due to collapse and broncho- 
pneumonia. 
Fig. 2. The cut surface of a portion of the principal lobe of the same lung, 
showing the recent invasion of antinomycosis from the other lobe : a, 
large air tube ; b, artery ; c, a pneumatic lobule ; d, lobule containing 
minute yellowish dots. In these the actinomyces fungus is lodged. 
Fig. 3. Cut surface of a small portion of another lung, showing a few 
lobules, a. The fungus is sprinkled throughout the lung tissue in the 
form of yellowish grains, as shown in the illustration. The pleural 
covering of the lung tissue is shown in profile above. 
448 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XXXIX. 




'■■*:.*■- 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XL. 




Actinomycosis of the Jaw, 



Diseajes of Cattle— U. S. Dept. of Agr 



Plate XLI. 






I B.CO BALTIMORE 



anthrax: 449 

Cause. — The cause of anthrax is a microscopic organism known as 
the anthrax bacillus. (See PI. XXVIII, fig. 7.) In form it is 
cylindrical or rodlike, measuring xoV<7 to TsVo i ncn in length and 
■ 25000 inch in diameter. Like all bacteria, these rodlike bodies 
have the power of indefinite multiplication, and in the bodies of 
infected animals they produce death by rapidly increasing in num- 
bers and producing substances which poison the body. In the blood 
they multiply in number by becoming elongated and then dividing 
into two, each new organism continuing the same process indefinitely. 
Outside the body, however, they multiply in a different way when 
under conditions unfavorable to growth. Oval bodies, r which are 
called spores, appear within the rods, and remain alive and capable 
of germination after years of drying. They also resist heat to a 
remarkable degree, so that boiling water is necessary to destroy them. 
The bacilli themselves, on the other hand, show only very little re- 
sistance to heat and drying. It has long been known that the anthrax 
virus thrives best under certain conditions of the soil and on terri- 
tories subject to floods and inundations. The particular kinds of 
soil upon which the disease is observed are black, loose, warm, humous 
soils ; also those containing lime, marl, and clay, finally peaty, swampy 
soils resting upon strata which hold the water, or, in other words, are 
impervious. Hence fields containing stagnant pools may be the source 
of infection. The infection may be limited to certain farms, or even 
to restricted areas on such farms. Even in the Alps, more than 3,000 
feet above sea level, where such conditions prevail in secluded valleys, 
anthrax persists among herds. 

Aside from these limitations to specific conditions of the soil, 
anthrax is a disease of world-wide distribution. It exists in most 
countries of Europe, in Asia, Africa, Australia, and in our own 
country in the lower Mississippi Valley, the Gulf States, and in some 
of the Eastern and Western States. It seems to be gradually spread- 
ing in this country and every year occurs in new districts. 

Meteorological conditions also have an important share in deter- 
mining the severity of the disease. On those tracts subject to inun- 
dations in spring a very hot, dry summer is liable to cause a severe 
outbreak. The relation which the bacillus bears to these conditions 
is not positively known. It may be that during and immediately 
after inundations or in stagnant water the bacilli find nourishment 
enough in the water here and there to multiply and produce an 
abundant crop of spores, which are subsequently carried, in a dry 
condition, by the winds during the period of drought and dissemi- 
nated over the vegetation. Animals feeding upon this vegetation 
may contract the disease if the spores germinate in the body. 

Another source of the virus, and one regarded by many authorities 
as perhaps the most important, is the body of an animal which has 
33071°— 16 29 



450 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

died of anthrax. It will be remembered that in such bodies the 
anthrax bacilli are present in great numbers, and wherever blood 
or other body fluids are exposed to the air on the surface of the carcass 
there the formation of spores will go on with great rapidity in the 
warm season of the year. It will thus be readily understood how this 
disease may become stationary in a given locality and appear year 
after year and even grow in severity if the carcasses of animals which 
have succumbed to it are not properly disposed of. These carcasses 
should be buried deeply, so that spore formation may be prevented 
and no animal have access to them. By exercising this precaution 
the disease will not be disseminated by flies and other insect pests. 

We have thus two agents at work in maintaining the disease in any 
locality — the soil and meteorological conditions, and the carcasses of 
animals that have died of the disease. Besides these dangers, which 
are of immediate consequence to cattle on pastures, the virus may be 
carried from place to place in hides, hair, wool, hoofs, and horns, 
and it may be stored in the hay or other fodder from the infected 
fields and cause an outbreak among stabled animals feeding upon it 
in winter. In this manner the affection has been introduced into 
far-distant localities. 

How cattle are infected. — We have seen above that the spores of 
the anthrax bacilli, which in their functions correspond to the seeds 
of higher plants and which are the elements that longest resist the 
unfavorable conditions in the soil, air, and water, are the chief agents 
of infection. They may be taken into the body with the feed and 
produce disease which begins in the intestinal tract, or they may 
come in contact with scratches, bites, or other wounds of the skin, 
mouth, and tongue, and produce in these situations swellings or 
carbuncles. From such swellings the bacilli penetrate into the blood 
and produce a general disease. 

It has likewise been asserted that the disease may be transmitted by 
various kinds of insects which carry the bacilli from the sick and 
inoculate the healthy as they pierce the skin. When infection of the 
blood takes place from the intestines the carbuncles may be absent. 
It has already been stated that since anthrax spores live for sev- 
eral years, the disease may be contracted in winter from feed gathered 
on permanently infected fields. 

The disease may appear sporadically, i. e., only one or several 
animals may be infected while the rest of the herd remain well, or it 
may appear as an epizootic attacking a large number at about the 
same time. 

Symptoms. — The symptoms in cattle vary considerably, according 
as the disease begins in the skin, in the lungs, or in the intestines. 
They depend also on the severity of the attack. Thus we may have 
what is called anthrax peracutus or apoplectiform, when the animal 



ANTHRAX. 451 

dies very suddenly as if from apoplexy. Such cases usually occur in 
the beginning of an outbreak. The animal, without having shown 
any signs of disease, suddenly drops in the pasture and dies in 
convulsions, or one apparently well at night is found dead in the 
morning. 

The second type (anthrax acutis), without any external swellings, 
is the one most commonly observed in cattle. The disease begins 
with a high fever. The temperature may reach 106° to 107° F. The 
pulse beats from 80 to 100 a minute. Feeding and rumination are 
suspended. Chills and muscular tremors may appear and the skin 
show uneven temperature. The ears and base of the horns are cold, 
the coat staring. The animals are dull and stupid and manifest 
great weakness. 

To these symptoms others are added in the course of the disease. 
The dullness may give way to great uneasiness, champing of the 
jaws, spasms of the limbs, kicking and pawing the ground. The 
breathing may become labored. The nostrils then dilate, the mouth 
is open, the head raised, and all muscles of the chest are strained 
during breathing, while the visible mucous membranes (nose, mouth, 
rectum, and vagina) become bluish. If the disease has started in 
the bowels, there is much pain, as shown by the moaning of the 
animal ; the discharges, at first firm, become softer and covered with 
serum, mucus, and blood. 

As the disease approaches the fatal termination the weakness of 
the animal increases. It leans against supports or lies down. Blood 
vessels may rupture and give rise to spots of blood on the various 
mucous membranes and bloody discharges from nose, mouth, rectum, 
and vagina. The urine not infrequently contains blood (red water), 
and death ensues within one or two days. 

A third type of the disease (anthrax subacutas), which is rarely 
observed, includes those cases in which the disease is more prolonged. 
It may last from three to seven days and terminate fatally or end in 
recovery. In this type, the symptoms are practically as described in 
the acute form, only less marked. 

In connection with these types of intestinal anthrax, swellings may 
appear in different parts of the body under the skin, or the disease 
may start from such a swelling, caused by the inoculation of anthrax 
spores in one of the several different ways already described. If the 
disease begins in the skin, it agrees in general with the subacute form 
in prolonged duration, and it may occasionally terminate in recovery 
if the swellings are thoroughly incised and treated. 

Lesions. — These swellings appear as edemas and carbuncles. The 
former are doughy tumors of a more or less flattish form passing 
gradually into the surrounding healthy tissue. As a rule, they are 
situated beneath the skin in the fatty layer, and the skin itself is at 



452 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

first of healthy appearance, so that they are often overlooked, espe- 
cially when covered with a good coat of hair. When they are cut 
open they are found to consist of a peculiar, jellylike mass of a yel- 
lowish color and more or less stained with blood. The carbuncles are 
firm, hot, tender swellings, which later become cool and painless and 
undergo mortification. The edemas and carbuncles may also appear 
in the mouth, pharynx, larynx, in the tongue, and in the rectum. 

The bodies of cattle which have died of anthrax soon lose their 
rigidity and become bloated, because decomposition sets in very 
rapidly. From the mouth, nose, and anus blood-strained fluid flows 
in small quantities. When such carcasses are opened and examined 
it is found that nearly all organs are sprinkled with spots of blood 
or extravasations of various sizes. The spleen is enlarged from two 
to five times, the pulp blackish and soft and occasionally disinte- 
grated. The blood is of tarry consistency, not firmly coagulated, and 
blackish in color. In the abdomen, the thoracic cavity, and in the 
pericardium, or bag surrounding the heart, more or less blood-stained 
fluid is present. In addition to these characteristic signs, the car- 
buncles and swellings under the skin, already described, will aid in 
determining the true nature of the disease. The most reliable method 
of diagnosis is the examination of the blood and tissues for anthrax 
bacilli, which requires a trained bacteriologist. The cases of fatal 
anthrax number from 70 to 90 per cent, and are usually more numer- 
ous at the first outbreak of the disease. 

Differential diagnosis. — The diagnosis from blackleg may be made 
by noting the subcutaneous swellings which appear upon the patient. 
Those of blackleg are found to crackle under pressure with the finger, 
owing to the presence of gas within the tissues, while the tumors of 
anthrax, being caused by the pressure of serum, are entirely free from 
this quality and have a somewhat doughy consistence. The tumors 
of blackleg are usually on the shoulder or thigh and are not found 
so frequently about the neck and side of the body as are the swellings 
of anthrax. The blood of animals dead of blackleg is normal, and 
the spleen does not appear swollen or darkened, as in those affected 
with anthrax. The chief differences between anthrax and Texas 
fever are that the course of the former is more acute and the blood of 
the animal is dark and of a tarlike consistence, while in the latter 
it is thinner than normal. The presence of Texas-fever ticks on the 
cattle would also lead one to suspect that disease in regions where 
cattle are not immune from it. 

Treatment. — In cases which originate from external wounds, the 
swellings should be opened freely by long incisions with a sharp knife 
and washed several times daily with carbolic-acid solution (1 ounce to 
a quart of water). Care should be taken to disinfect thoroughly any 
fluid discharge that may follow the incision. When suppuration 



ANTHRAX. 453 

has set in the treatment recommended in the chapter on wounds 
should be carried out. 

In the treatment of animals showing symptoms of anthrax, the 
serum recommended under the next heading of " Prevention " should 
be administered in large doses. Animals showing only a high tem- 
perature with no other symptoms of the disease should be given 
from 30 to 50 cubic centimeters of the serum, but if the gravity of 
the disease is pronounced 100 cubic centimeters should be adminis- 
tered. In most instances a drop in temperature may be observed and 
a diminishing of the severity of the symptoms. At times, however, 
a relapse occurs about the second or third day following the serum 
injection, when it becomes necessary to administer another dose of 
serum. It has been proved that animals affected w T ith anthrax may 
recover after injections of potent serum. 

Prevention. — In this disease prevention is the most important 
subject demanding consideration. The various means to be sug- 
gested may be brought under two heads: (1) The surroundings of 
the animal, and (2) preventive inoculation. 

(1) Surroundings. — What has already been stated of those con- 
ditions of the pastures which are favorable to anthrax, after a little 
thought, will suggest to most minds some of the preventive measures 
which may be of service in reducing losses in anthrax localities. All 
that conduces to a better state of the soil should be attempted. The 
State or Nation, by appropriate engineering, should do its share in 
preventing frequent inundations. If pools of stagnant water exist 
in the pastures, or if any particular portions are known by experience 
to give rise to anthrax, they should be fenced off. Efforts should 
likewise be made toward the proper draining, of swamp lands fre- 
quented by cattle. Sometimes it has been found desirable to abandon 
for a season any infected or dangerous pastures. This remedy 
can not be carried out by most farmers, and it is liable to ex- 
tend the infected territory. In some instances withdrawal of cattle 
from pastures entirely and feeding them in stables is said to have 
reduced the losses. 

It is of the utmost importance that carcasses of animals which have 
died of anthrax be properly disposed of, as every portion of such 
animal contains the bacilli, ready to form spores when exposed to the 
air. Perhaps the simplest means is to bury the carcasses deep, 
where they can not be exposed by dogs or wild animals. It may be 
necessary to bury them on the pasture, but it is better to remove 
them to places not frequented by susceptible animals and to a point 
where drainage from the graves can not infect any water supply. 

If they are moved some distance it must be borne in mind that the 
ground and all objects which have come in contact with the carcass 
should be disinfected. This is best accomplished with chlorid of 



454 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

lime. For washing utensils, etc., a 5 per cent solution may be pre- 
pared by adding 3 ounces to 2 quarts of water. This should be 
prepared fresh from the powder, and it is but little trouble to have a 
small tin measure of known capacity to dip out the powder, to be 
added to the water whenever necessary. The carcass and the ground 
should be sprinkled with powdered chlorid, or, if this is not at hand, 
an abundance of ordinary, unslaked lime should be used in its place. 

The removal of carcasses to rendering establishments is always 
fraught with danger, unless those who handle them are thoroughly 
aware of the danger of scattering the virus by careless handling in 
wagons that are not tight. As a rule, the persons in charge of such 
transfer have no training for this important work, so that deep burial 
is to be preferred. Burning large carcasses is not always feasible; 
it is, however, the most certain means of destroying infectious mate- 
rial of any kind, and should be resorted to whenever practicable and 
economical. All carcasses, whether buried, rendered, or burned, 
should be disposed of unopened. When stables have become in- 
fected they should be thoroughly cleaned out, and the solution of 
chlorid of lime freely applied on floors and woodwork. The feed 
should be carefully protected from contamination with the manure 
or other discharges from the sick. 

(2) Preventive inoculation. — One of the most important discov- 
eries in connection with the disease was made by Louis Pasteur 
in 1881, and consisted in the new principle of producing immunity 
by the inoculation of weakened cultures of the bacillus causing the 
disease. This method has been quite extensively adopted in France, 
and to some extent in other European countries, and in the United 
States. The fluid used for inoculation consists of bouillon in which 
modified anthrax bacilli have multiplied and are present in large 
numbers. The bacilli have bepn modified by heat so that to a certain 
degree they have lost their original virulence. Two vaccines are 
prepared. The first or weaker, for the first inoculation, is obtained 
by subjecting the bacilli to the attenuating effects of heat for a longer 
period of time than in the case of the second, or stronger vaccine, for 
a second inoculation some 12 days later. 

There are several difficulties inherent in the practical application 
of Pasteur's vaccine. Among them may be mentioned the variable 
degree of attenuation of different tubes of the vaccine and the vary- 
ing susceptibility of the animals to be inoculated. The use of this 
vaccine is increasing, nevertheless, and has reduced the mortality in 
the affected districts from an average of 10 per cent in the case of 
sheep, to less than 1 per cent, and from 5 per cent with cattle, to less 
than one-half of 1 per cent. 

It is very important to call attention to the possibility of dis- 
tributing anthrax by this method of protective inoculation, as the 



ANTHRAX. 455 

bacilli themselves are present in the culture liquid. It is true that 
they have been modified and weakened by the process adopted by 
Pasteur, but it is not impossible for such modified virus to regain 
its original virulence after it has been scattered broadcast by the 
inoculation of large herds. It is obviously unsafe to have such 
vaccine injected by a layman; instead, it should be handled only by 
a competent veterinarian. 

There are other disadvantages in this method of vaccination, and 
they all must be given due consideration. The unstable keeping 
quality of the Pasteur vaccine is a very important factor to be consid- 
ered. Experience in this line has proved that Pasteur vaccine may 
deteriorate within a very short time after its preparation, and in re- 
peated instances it has proved inert within three months of its 
preparation. When exposed to warm temperature and light, it 
deteriorates very rapidly ; and when it is considered that the products 
of manufacturers may be stored under unfavorable conditions in 
branch houses and on the shelves of rural drug stores, the loss of 
potency can be readily explained. These deficiencies have been rec- 
ognized by many investigators, and because of the superior keeping 
qualities particular attention has been directed toward the prepara- 
tion of a spore vaccine by Zenkowsky of Russia, Detre of Hungary, 
and Nitta of Japan. For the purpose of producing a spore vaccine 
it is desirable to use a peptone-free agar medium, and after inocula- 
tion with an attenuated culture of the anthrax bacillus, it is allowed 
to grow at a temperature of 37° C. for 4 to 7 days. By this time an 
abundance of spores will have formed. The growth is then collected 
in sterile flasks and heated to a temperature of 60° C. for one-half 
hour to destroy the vegetative forms of the organism. If it is desired 
to use for vaccination one million spores, it is advisable to dilute the 
vaccine to a quantity of which 1 cubic centimeter would contain this 
number. Of such a vaccine 1 cubic centimeter would constitute the 
dose for cattle and horses. In all forms of vaccination against an- 
thrax in sheep the greatest care must be exercised, as these animals 
are very susceptible to the disease, and at times vaccines which have 
no ill effects on cattle will prove fatal to sheep. Therefore the dose 
of the spore vaccine for sheep should not be more than one- fourth 
of that given to cattle. 

Sclavo, Sobernheim, and others have established that injections 
of increasing quantities of virulent cultures into immune animals 
produced a serum which has great protective value against anthrax. 
Such protective serum may be produced in the various susceptible 
animals. 

For immunization purposes it is advisable to use the simultaneous 
method ; that is, both the spore vaccine and the anthrax serum should 
be injected. It is desirable to divide the herd to be treated into 



456 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

groups of ten or twelve and inject, first, each animal of the group 
with the serum, following this with the injection of the spore vaccine. 
The serum should be injected on one side, either on the neck or back 
of the shoulder, and the spore vaccine on the other side, injections 
being made subcutaneously. In herds in which the disease has 
already made its appearance it is necessary to take the temperatures 
of all the animals and to subject to the simultaneous vaccination only 
those that show no rise in temperature. All others should be given 
the serum-alone treatment in doses varying in accordance with the 
severity of the symptoms manifested by the individual animals. If 
the examination reveals a considerable number of infections, it is 
advisable to use the serum alone for all the animals, and in three or 
four weeks to revaccinate by the simultaneous method. The dosage 
should depend on the potency of the serum, serum of a high potency 
naturally being most desirable. Thus serum in 10 cubic centimeter 
doses for large animals, and 3 to 5 cubic centimeter doses for smaller 
ones, has been found to be effective in producing a temporary 
immunity. 

As anthrax is entirely different from blackleg, vaccine for the latter 
does not act as a preventive against the former. 

ANTHRAX IN MAN (MALIGNANT PUSTULE, OR CARBUNCLE). 

Anthrax may be transmitted to man in handling the carcasses and 
hides of animals which have succumbed to the disease. The infec- 
tion usually takes place through some abrasion or slight wound of 
the skin into which the anthrax spores, or bacilli, find their way. 
The point of inoculation appears at first as a dark point or patch, 
compared by some writers to the sting of a flea. After a few hours 
this is changed into a reddened pimple, which bears on its summit, 
usually around a hair, a yellowish blister, or vesicle, which later on 
becomes red or bluish in color. The burning sensation in this stage 
is very great. Later this pimple enlarges, its center becomes dry, 
gangrenous, and is surrounded by an elevated, discolored swelling. 
The center becomes drier and more leatherlike, and sinks in as the 
whole increases in size. The skin around this swelling or carbuncle 
is stained yellow or bluish, and is not infrequently swollen and 
doughy to the touch. The carbuncle itself rarely grows larger than 
a pea or a small nut, and is but slightly painful. 

Anthrax swellings or edemas, already described as occurring in 
cattle, may also be found in man, and they are at times so extensive 
as to produce distortion in the appearance of the part of the body 
on which they are found. The color of the skin over these swellings 
varies according to the situation and thickness of the skin and the 
stage of the disease, and may be white, red, bluish, or blackish. 



BLACKLEG. 457 

As sooner or later these carbuncles and swellings may lead to an 
infection of the entire body, and thus be fatal, surgical assistance 
should at once be called if there is well-grounded suspicion that any 
swellings resembling those described above have been caused by in- 
oculation with anthrax virus! Inasmuch as physicians differ as to 
medicinal treatment of such accidents in man, it would be out of 
place to make any suggestions in this connection. 

Extensive data are available, however, on the effectiveness of an- 
thrax serum for the treatment of the disease in man. It is recom- 
mended that from 30 to 40 cubic centimeters of serum be injected in 
three or four different places. Should no improvement follow in 
24 hours additional injections of 20 to 30 cubic centimeters should be 
administered. 

In most instances the results are favorable, and this treatment is 
acknowledged to be superior to any other mode of treatment known 
for the disease. 

To sIioav that the transmission of anthrax to man is not so very 
uncommon, we take the following figures from the 1890 report of 
the German Government: The attention of the authorities was 
brought to 111 cases, of which 11 terminated fatally. The largest 
number of inoculations were caused by the slaughtering, opening, 
and skinning of animals affected with anthrax; hence, the butchers 
suffered most extensively. Of the 111 thus affected, 36 belonged to 
this craft. 

In addition to anthrax of the skin (known as malignant pustule), 
human beings are subject, though very rarely, to the disease of the 
lungs and the digestive organs. In the former case the spores are 
inhaled by workmen in establishments in which wool, hides, and rags 
are worked over, and it is therefore known as woolsorter's disease. 
In the latter case the disease is contracted by eating the flesh of dis- 
eased animals which has not been thoroughly cooked. These forms 
of the disease are more fatal than those in which the disease starts 
from the skin. 

BLACKLEG. 1 
[PI. XML] 

Blackleg, black quarter, quarter ill. symptomatic anthrax, charbon 
symptomatique of the French, Rauschbrand of the Germans, is a 
rapidly fatal, infectious disease of young cattle, associated with ex- 
ternal swellings which emit a crackling sound when handled. This 
disease was formerly regarded identical with anthrax, but investiga- 
tions by various scientists in recent times have definitely proved the 
entire dissimilarity of the two affections, both from a clinical and a 

1 For detailed information regarding blackleg and the free distribution of blackleg 
vaccine, write to the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Washington. D. C. 



458 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

causal standpoint. The disease is produced by a specific bacillus, 
readily distinguishable from that causing anthrax. (PI. XXVIII, 
fig. 4.) Cattle between 6 months and 2 years of age are the most 
susceptible. Sucking calves under 6 months are rarely attacked, nor 
are they so susceptible to inoculation as older animals. Cattle more 
than 2 years of age may become affected, but such cases are infre- 
quent. Sheep and goats may also contract the disease, but man, 
horses, hogs, dogs, cats, and fowls appear to be immune. 

Like anthrax, blackleg is more or less restricted to definite local- 
ities. There are certain pastures upon which the disease regularly 
appears in the summer and fall of the year. As to any peculiarities 
of the soil nothing is definitely known. Some authors are inclined 
to regard moist, undrained, and swampy pastures favorable to this 
disease, but these theories will hardly hold, as it is found in all kinds 
of soil, in all altitudes, at all seasons of the year, and under various 
climatic conditions. It occurs in this country from the Atlantic to 
the Pacific and from Mexico to Canada, but it is more prevalent in 
the Western and Southwestern States. In Europe it exists in France, 
various parts of Germany, in Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Italy, 
and in the Alps of Switzerland. In Africa it occurs in Algeria 
and to some extent in Natal and bordering countries. In South 
America it prevails quite extensively throughout Argentina. Cattle 
in Cuba and Australia also suffer. 

Cause. — The cause of the disease is a bacillus resembling in some 
minor respects the anthrax bacillus and differing but little from it 
in size. It also possesses the power of forming within itself a spore. 
In Plate XXVIII, figure 4, this is represented as an uncolored spot 
located in one end of the rod, which is enlarged so that the rod 
itself appears more or less club-shaped. What has already been 
stated concerning the significance of the spore of the anthrax bacillus 
applies equally well to these bodies. They resist destructive agents 
for a considerable time, and may still produce disease when inocu- 
lated after several years of drying. This fact may account for the 
occasional appearance of blackleg in stables. In order to meet the 
requirements for the development of the spores, which takes place 
only in the absence of the atmosphere, it is necessary that the wound 
be very small and deep enough to penetrate the subcutaneous tissue. 

Several observers have found this organism in the mud of swamps. 
By placing a little of the mud under the skin, the disease has been 
produced. 

Since the disease may be produced by placing under the skin 
material containing the specific bacilli and spores, it has been 
assumed that cattle contract the disease through wounds, principally 
of the skin, or very rarely of the mouth, tongue, and throat. Slight 
wounds into which the virus may find access may be caused by 



BLACKLEG. 459 

barbed wire, stubbles, thorns, briers, grass burs, and sharp or pointed 
parts of feed. 

Symptoms and lesions. — The symptoms of blackleg may be either 
of a general or of a local nature, though more frequently of the 
latter. The general symptoms are very much like those belonging 
to other acute infectious or bacterial diseases. They begin, from one 
to three days after the infection has taken place, with loss of appe- 
tite and of rumination, with dullness and debility, and a high fever. 
The temperature may rise to 107° F. To these may be added lame- 
ness or stiffness of one or more limbs, due to the tumor or swelling 
quite invariably accompanying the disease. After a period of dis- 
ease lasting from one to three days the affected animal almost always 
succumbs. Death is preceded by increasing weakness, difficult 
breathing, and occasional attacks of violent convulsions. 

The most important characteristic of this disease is the appear- 
ance of a tumor or swelling under the skin a few hours after the 
setting in of the constitutional symptoms described above. In some 
cases it may appear first. This tumor may be on the thighs (hence 
"blackleg," "black quarter"), the neck, the shoulder, the breast, 
the flanks, or the rump; never below the carpal (or knee) and the 
hock joint. It more rarely appears in the throat and at the base 
of the tongue. The tumor, at first small and painful, spreads very 
rapidly both in depth and extent. When it is stroked or handled 
a peculiar crackling sound is heard under the skin. ; this is due to 
a collection of gas formed by the bacilli as they multiply. At this 
stage the skin becomes dry, parchment-like, and cool to the touch 
in the center of the tumor. If the swelling is cut into, a frothy, 
dark-red, rather disagreeably smelling fluid is discharged. The ani- 
mal manifests little or no pain during the operation. 

As it is frequently desirable to know whether the disease is anthrax 
or blackleg, a few of the most obvious post-mortem changes may 
here be cited. The characteristic tumor with its crackling sound 
when stroked has already been described. If after the death of the 
animal it is more thoroughly examined, it will be noted that the 
tissues under the skin are infiltrated with blood and yellowish, jelly- 
like material and gas bubbles. The muscular tissue beneath the 
swelling may be brownish or black, shading into dark red. (PI. 
XLII.) It is soft, easily torn and broken up. The muscle tissue 
is distended with numerous smaller or larger gas-filled cavities, 
often to such extent as to produce a resemblance to lung tissue. 
Upon incision it does not collapse perceptibly, as the gas cavities are 
not connected with one another. 

In the abdomen and the thorax bloodstained fluid is not infre- 
quently found, together with bloodstaining of the lining membrane 
of these cavities. Blood spots (or ecchymoses) are also found on 



460 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the heart and lungs. The liver is congested, but the spleen is always 
normal. 

Differential diagnosis. — Among the features of this disease which 
distinguish it from anthrax may be mentioned the unchanged spleen 
and the ready clotting of the blood. It will be remembered that in 
anthrax the spleen (milt) is very much enlarged, the blood tarry, 
coagulating feebly. The anthrax carbuncles and swellings differ 
from the blackleg swellings in not containing gas, in being hard and 
solid, and in causing death less rapidly. 

It is difficult to distinguish between the swellings of blackleg and 
maligant edema, as they resemble each other very closely and both 
are distended with gas. Malignant edema, however, generally starts 
from a wound of considerable size ; it usually follows surgical opera- 
tions, and does not result from the small abrasions and pricks to 
which animals are subjected in pastures. Inoculation experiments 
on guinea pigs, rabbits, and chickens will also disclose the differences 
between the three diseases above, as all these species are killed by 
the germ of malignant edema, only the first two species by the 
anthrax bacillus, while the guniea pigs alone will succumb to the 
blackleg infection. Hemorrhagic septicemia may be differentiated 
from blackleg by its affecting cattle of all ages, by the location of the 
swelling usually about the region of the throat, neck, and dewlap, 
by the soft, doughy character of the swellings without the presence 
of gas bubbles, and finally by the characteristic hemorrhages widely 
distributed throughout the body. Other means of diagnosis, which 
have reference to the specific bacilli, to the inoculable character of 
the virus upon small animals, and which are of decisive and final 
importance, can be utilized only by the trained bacteriologist and 
veterinarian. 

Treatment. — In this disease remedies have thus far proved unavail- 
ing. Some writers recommend the use of certain drugs, which seem 
to have been beneficial in a few cases, but a thorough trial has 
shown them to be valueless. Others advise that the swelling be 
opened by deep and long incisions and a strong disinfectant, such 
as a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid, applied to the exposed parts, 
but this procedure can not be too strongly condemned. As nearly 
all those attacked die, in spite of every kind of treatment, and in 
view of the fact that when these tumors are opened the germs of the 
disease are scattered over the stables or pastures, thus becoming a 
source of danger to other cattle, it is obvious that such measures do 
more harm than good and should be put aside as dangerous. Bleed- 
ing, nerving, roweling, or setoning have likewise some adherents, 
but the evidence indicates that they have neither curative nor pre- 
ventive value and therefore should be discarded for the method of 



BLACKLEG. 461 

vaccination which has been thoroughly tried and proved to be 
efficacious. 

Prevention. — The various means suggested under "Anthrax " to 
prevent the spread or recurrence of this disease are equally applicable 
to blackleg, and hence do not need to be repeated here in full. They 
consist in the removal of the animals from the infected pasture to a 
noninfected field, the draining of the swampy ground, the burial or 
burning of the carcasses to prevent the dissemination of the germs 
over vast areas through the agency of dogs, wolves, buzzards, or 
crows, the disinfection of the stables and the ground where the ani- 
mals lay at the time of death, and, if possible, the destruction of the 
germs on the infected pastures. One of the most effective methods 
for freeing an infected pasture from blackleg is to allow the grass 
to grow high, and when sufficiently dry to burn it off. One burn- 
ing off is not sufficient to redeem an infected pasture, but the process 
should be repeated several years in succession. This method, how- 
ever, is in many instances impracticable, as few cattle owners can 
afford to do it, and the only means left for the protection of the 
animals is vaccination. 

I minimization by vaccination.. — Three French veterinarians,, Arlo- 
ing, Cornevin, and Thomas, were the first to discover that cattle may 
be protected against blackleg by inoculation with virulent material 
obtained from animals which have died of this disease. Later they 
devised a method of inoculation with the attenuated or weakened 
blackleg spores which produced immunity from natural or artificial 
inoculation of virulent blackleg germs. Their method has undergone 
various modifications both in regard to the manufacture of the vac- 
cine and in the mode of its application. Kitt, a German scientist, 
modified the method so that but one inoculation of the vaccine was 
required instead of two, as was the case with that made by the French 
investigators. The vaccine prepared and distributed by the Bureau 
of Animal Industry combines the principle of Arloing, Cornevin, and 
Thomas, and the modification of Kitt. 

By vaccination we understand the injection of a minute amount of 
attenuated — that is, artificially weakened — blackleg virus into the 
system. This virus is obtained from animals which have died from 
blackleg, by securing the affected muscles, cutting them into strips, 
and drying them in the air. When they are perfectly dry they 
are pulverized and mixed with water to form a paste, smeared in a 
thin layer on flat dishes, placed in an oven, and heated for six hours 
at a temperature close to that of boiling water. The paste is then 
transformed into a hard crust, which is pulverized and sifted and 
distributed in packages containing either 10 or 25 doses. This con- 
stitutes the vaccine, the strength of which is thoroughly tested on 
experiment animals before it is distributed among the cattle owners. 



462 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

This vaccine, which is in the form of a brownish, dry powder, is 
mixed with definite quantities of sterile water, filtered, and by means 
of a hypodermic syringe the filtrate injected under the skin in front 
of the shoulder of the animal. The inoculation is usually followed by 
insignificant symptoms. In a few cases there is a slight rise of tem- 
perature, and by close observation a minute swelling may be noted at 
the point of inoculation. The immunity conferred in this way may 
last for 18 months, but animals vaccinated before they are 6 months 
old and those in badly infected districts should be revaccinated before 
the following blackleg season. 

The effect of the vaccine prepared by this bureau in preventing 
outbreaks of the disease and in immediately abating outbreaks 
already in progress has been highly satisfactory, and it is not to 
be doubted that thousands of young cattle have been saved to the 
stock owners during the eighteen and a half years in which the 
vaccine has been distributed. More than 25,000,000 doses have been 
sent out during this period, and from reports received it is safe to 
conclude that more than 20,000,000 have actually been injected, 
whereby the percentage of loss from blackleg has been reduced from 
10 per cent, which annually occurred before using, to less than one- 
half of 1 per cent per annum. With these figures before us it is 
plain that the general introduction of preventive vaccination must be 
of material benefit to the cattle raisers in the infected districts. 
Moreover, there is every reason to believe that with the continued 
use of blackleg vaccine in all districts where the disease is known to 
occur, and an earnest effort on the part of the stock owners to prevent 
the reinfection of their pastures by following the directions given, 
blackleg may be kept in check and gradually eradicated. 

NECROTIC STOMATITIS (CALF DIPHTHERIA). 

[PI. XLIII.] 

Necrotic stomatitis is an acute, specific, highly contagious inflam- 
mation of the mouth occurring in young cattle, and characterized 
locally by the formation of ulcers and caseo-necrotic patches and by 
constitutional symptoms, chiefly toxic. 

This disease has also been termed calf diphtheria, gangrenous 
stomatitis, ulcerative stomatitis, malignant stomatitis, tubercular 
stomatitis, and diphtheritic patches of the oral mucous membrane. 

History. — During the last few years farmers and cattlemen in this 
country, especially in Colorado, Texas, and South Dakota, have 
increasingly noted the occurrence of enzootics of " sore mouth " 
among the young animals of their herds. Instead of healing, like the 
usual forms, of themselves, these cases, if untreated, die. Careful 
study of some of them has resulted in their identification with cases 



NECROTIC STOMATITIS. 463 

reported in 1877 by Dammann, from the shore of the Baltic ; in 1878 
by Blazekowic, in Slavonia ; in 1879 by Vollers, in Holstein; in 
1880 by Lenglen, in France; in 1881 by Macgillivray, in England; 
and in 1881 by Loffler, who isolated and described the microorgan- 
ism which produces the disease. Bang obtained this organism from 
the diphtheritic lesions of calves in 1890, and Kitt likewise recov- 
ered the bacillus from similar lesions of the larynx and pharynx of 
calves and pigs in 1893. 

Etiology. — The cause of necrotic stomatitis, as demonstrated by 
Loffler and since confirmed by other investigators, is Bacillus necroyh- 
orus, often spoken of as the bacillus of necrosis. This organism varies 
in form from a coccoid rod to long, wavy filaments, which may reach 
a length of 100 \x; the width varies from 0.75 \l to 1 ^. Hence it is 
described as polymorphic It does not stain by Gram, but takes the 
ordinary anilin dyes, often presenting, especially the longer forms, a 
beaded appearance. A characteristic of the organism, of great mo- 
ment when we come to treatment, is that it grows only in the absence 
of oxygen, from which fact it is described as an obligate anaerobe. 

Very few organisms exhibit a wider range of pathogenesis. Ac- 
cording to clinical observation to the present time, Bacillus necroph- 
orus is pathogenic for cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, reindeer, kanga- 
roos, antelope, and rabbits. Experimentally it has been proved patho- 
genic for rabbits and white mice. The dog, cat, guinea pig, pigeon, 
and chicken appear to be absolutely immune. It is not pathogenic 
for man. 

The importance of this bacillus is far beyond even its relation to 
necrotic stomatitis. Besides this disease it has been demonstrated as 
the causative factor in foot rot, multiple liver abscesses, disseminated 
liver necrosis, embolic necrosis of the lungs, necrosis of the heart, in 
cattle; gangrenous pox of the teats, diphtheria of the uterus and 
vagina, in cows; diphtheritic inflammation of the small intestine of 
calves. Among horses it is the agent in the production of necrotic 
malanders, quittor, and diphtheritic inflammation of the large intes- 
tine. In hogs it has caused necrotic or diphtheritic processes in the 
mucous membrane of the mouth, necrosis of the anterior wall of the 
nasal septum, and pulmonary and intestinal necrosis, accompanying 
hog cholera. Abscesses of the liver, gangrenous processes of the lips 
and nose, and gangrenous affections of the hoof have all been caused 
in sheep by this organism. 

Pathology. — The principal lesions in necrotic stomatitis occur in 
the mucous membrane of the mouth and pharynx. The alterations 
may extend to the nasal cavities, the larynx, the trachea, the lung, the 
esophagus, the intestines, and to the hoof. The oral surfaces affected 
are, in the order of frequency, tongue, cheeks, hard palate, gums, 



464 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

lips, and pharynx. In the majority of cases the primary infection 
seems to occur in the tongue. (PI. XLIII.) 

Infection takes place by inoculation. Some abrasion or break in 
the continuity of the mucous membrane of the mouth occurs. Very 
likely the origin may be connected with the eruption of the first teeth 
after birth, or, in animals somewhat older, the entrance of a sharp- 
pointed particle of feed. Gaining an entrance at this point, the 
bacilli begin to multiply. During their development they elaborate 
a toxin, or poisonous substance, which causes the death, or necrosis, 
of the epithelial, or superficial, layer of the mucous membrane and 
also of the white blood cells which have sallied forth through the 
vessel walls to the defense of the tissues against the bacillary attack. 
This destruction of the surface epithelium seems to be the essential 
factor in the production of the caseous patch, often called the false 
membrane. From the connective-tissue framework below is poured 
forth an inflammatory exudate highly albuminous or rich in fibrin- 
forming elements. When this exudate and the necrosed cellular 
elements come in contact, the latter furnish a fibrin ferment which 
transforms the exduate into a fibrinous mass. This process is known 
as coagulation necrosis, and the resulting fibroid mass, containing in 
its meshes the necrosed and degenerated epithelium and leucocytes, 
constitutes the diphtheritic or false membrane. Did the process cease 
at this point it would be properly called a diphtheritic inflammation, 
but it does not. A caseating ferment is supplied by the bacilli, and 
this, acting upon the fibroid patch, transforms it into a dry, finely 
granular, yellowish mass of tissue detritus resembling cheese. 

Frequently this caseous inflammation results in the formation of 
one or more ulcers with thickened, slightly reddened borders, sur- 
mounted by several layers of this necrosed tissue. The floor of the 
ulcer is formed by a grayish-yellow, corroded surface, under which 
the tissue is transformed into a dry, friable, or firm cheesy mass. In 
the tongue this may progress to two Angel's' thickness into the mus- 
cular portion; in the cheek it may form an external opening, per- 
mitting fluids to escape from the mouth; upon the palate it fre- 
quently reaches and includes the bone in its destructive course; upon 
the gums it has produced necrosis of the tooth sockets, causing loss 
of the teeth. In the advanced forms, caseous foci may be seen in the 
lung and in the liver and necrotic patches observed on the mucous 
membrane of the gastrointestinal tract. 

Symptoms. — Necrotic stomatitis is both a local and a systemic 
affection. Primarily it is local. The local lesion is the caseo-necrotic 
patch or ulcer developed as a result of the multiplication of the 
bacilli at the point of inoculation. The general affection is an intoxi- 
cation, or poisoning, of the whole system produced by a soluble toxin 
elaborated by the bacilli. 



Diseases of Cattle- U. S. Dept. of Agr 



Plate XLII. 




HOENaco BALTIMORE 



Section of Muscle from a Blackleg Swelling. 

a, Gas Bubbles. 

b. Cavities due to Gas formation. 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Oept of Agr. 



Plate XLIII. 




Haines del. 



iHOENSCO BALTIMORE. 



Necrotic Stomatitis (Calf Diphtheria). 



NECROTIC STOMATITIS. 465 

The stage of incubation is from three to five days. The first symp- 
toms noted are a disinclination to take nourishment, some drooling 
from the mouth, and an examination of the mouth will show on some 
portion of its mucous membrane a circumscribed area of infiltration 
and redness, possibly an erosion. The latter gradually extends in 
size and depth, forming a sharply circumscribed area of necrotic 
inflammation. It may measure anywhere from the size of a 5-cent 
piece to that of a silver dollar or even larger. It has the appearance 
of a corroded surface, under which the mucous membrane or muscular 
tissue seems transformed into a dry, friable, or firm cheesy mass. It 
is grayish yellow in color and is bordered by a zone of thickened 
tissue slightly reddened and somewhat granulated. The necrotic 
tissue is very adherent and can be only partially peeled off. It is 
homogeneous, cheesy, and may extend two fingers' depth into the 
tissues beneath. The general symptoms are languor, weakness, and 
slight fever. In spite of plenty of good feed the calf is seen to be 
failing. It stops sucking, or, if older, altogether refuses to eat. The 
temperature at this time may be from 10A° to 107° F. The slobber 
becomes profuse, swallowing very difficult, opening of the mouth 
quite painful, and a most offensive odor is exhaled. The tongue is 
swollen and its motion greatly impaired. Sometimes the mouth is 
kept open, permitting the tumefied tongue to protrude. One or more 
of the above symptoms direct the attention to the mouth as the seat 
of disease; or, having noticed the debility and disinclination to eat, 
an examination of the animal may show a lump under the neck or 
swelling of the throat or head. The following extract from a letter 
is characteristic: 

I noticed my calves beginning to fail about tlie first week in December, but 
could not account for it, as they were getting plently of grain and hay. My 
attention was first attracted by a swelling under the neck of one of the calves. 
I cast the animal and found that it was feed that had collected and the animal 
couldn't swallow it. I removed it, and in so doing noticed a large ulcer on the 
tongue and a very offensive odor. This was the first knowledge I had of 
anything being wrong with the calves' mouths. They may have been sick for 
some time before this. 

Out of a herd of 100 belonging to this man, 70 were affected, and 
the letter emphasizes the insidious character of the onset. 

The general affection at this time manifests itself by dejectedne&s, 
extreme weakness, and emaciation, constant lying down, with stiffness 
and marked difficulty in standing. 

The disease frequently extends to the nasal cavities, producing a 
thin, yellowish, or greenish-yellow, sticky discharge which adheres 
closely to the borders of the nostrils. Their edges also show caseous 
patches similar to those in the mouth. Sometimes the nasal passage 
is obstructed by great masses of the necrosed exudate, thus causing 
extreme difficulty in breathing. When the caseous process involves 
33071°— 16 30 



466 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the larynx and trachea there result cough, wheezing, and dyspnea, 
together with a yellowish mucopurulent expectoration. 

When life is prolonged three or four weeks, caseous foci may be 
established in the lung, giving rise to all the signs of a bronchopneu- 
monia. Many of these cases are associated with a fibrinous pleurisy. 
The invasion of the gastrointestinal tract is announced by diarrheal 
symptoms. This disease principally attacks sucklings not more than 
6 weeks of age, but calves 8 and 10 months old are frequently affected, 
and several cases in adult cattle have been reported to this office. 

In its very acute form many of the cases run their course in from 
five to eight days. In these the local lesions are not strongly marked, 
and death seems due to acute intoxication. In other enzootics 
the majority of the affected animals live from three to five weeks. 
These are cases that occasionally present the pulmonary and intes- 
tinal symptoms, and sometimes develop also caseo-necrotic lesions in 
the liver. 

Ordinarily cases show no tendency to spontaneous cure. Left to 
themselves they die. On the contrary, if taken in hand early, the 
disease is readily amenable to treatment. In the latter event the 
prospects of recovery are excellent. 

Differential diagnosis. — Necrotic stomatitis may be differentiated 
from foot-and-mouth disease by the fact that in the latter there is 
a rapid infection of the entire herd, including the adult cattle, as 
well as the infection of hogs and sheep. The characteristic lesion 
of foot-and-mouth disease is the appearance of vesicles containing a 
serous fluid upon the mucous membrane of the mouth and upon the 
udder, teats, and feet of the affected animals. In necrotic stomatitis 
vesicles are never formed, necrosis occurring from the beginning and 
followed by the formation of yellowish, cheesy patches, principally 
found in the mouth. Mycotic stomatitis occurs in only a few animals 
of the herd, chiefly the adult cattle, and the lesions produced consist 
of an inflammation of the mouth and lips and of the skin between 
the toes, followed in a few days by small irregular ulcers in the 
mouth. This disease appears sporadically, usually in the early fall 
after a dry summer, does not run a regular course, and can not be 
inoculated. 

Prevention. — Prophylaxis should be carried out along three lines : 

(1) Separation of the sick from the healthy animals. 

(2) Close scrutiny and thorough disinfection once or twice daily 
for five days of the mouths and nasal passages of those animals that 
have been exposed. 

(3) Complete disinfection of all stalls and sheds. 

The disease appears to break out in winter and hold over to -spring. 
It is conceivable that exposure to cold might so disturb the normal 
circulation of the oral tissues as to make the mucous membrane an 



MALIGNANT CATARRH. 467 

excellent location for the causative factor of the disease. There is 
another possibility, however, which bears on the third line of prophy- 
laxis. The so-called diphtheritic inflammations of the vagina and 
uterus in cows are caused by the same organism that induces necrotic 
stomatitis. A European writer has recently pointed out the almost 
constant relation of such attacks to previous occurrences of foul foot 
or foot rot in the same or other cattle on the place. 

In all likelihood, in such cases, the stalls and sheds are the harbor- 
ers of this germ. It is possible that many of these outbreaks have 
some relation to preceding cases of the above-mentioned diseases and 
the greater use in winter of the stalls and sheds, thus harboring the 
Bacillus necrophorus. 

Treatment. — The treatment consists almost solely in careful and 
extensive cleansing and disinfection of the mouth and other affected 
surfaces. The mucous membrane of the mouth should be copiously 
irrigated with a 4 per cent solution of boracic acid in warm water at 
least twice daily. As exposure to oxygen kills the bacilli, one need 
have no fear about disturbing or tearing off the caseous patches or 
necrotic tissue during irrigation. The irrigation of the sores should 
then be followed by the application with a brush or rag on a stick 
of a paste made with 1 part of salicylic acid and 10 parts of water, 
or the affected areas may be painted with Lugol's solution of iodin 
(iodin, 1; potassium iodid, 5; water, 200). Frequent injections of 
1 per cent carbolic-acid solution into the mouth make an excellent 
treatment. The internal administration of 2 grams of salicylic acid 
and 3 grams of chlorate of potassium three times a day has also 
proved to be very beneficial when accompanied with local antiseptic 
treatment. 

MALIGNANT CATARRH. 

Malignant catarrh, or infectious catarrhal fever, is an acute infec- 
tious disease of cattle preeminently involving the respiratory and 
digestive tracts, although the sinuses of the head, the eyes, and the 
urinary and sexual organs are very frequently affected. It is rela- 
tively rare in this country, being more common on the continent of 
Europe. Outbreaks have occurred, however, in Minnesota, New 
York, and New Jersey. So far the causal agent of the disease has 
never been isolated, and inoculation experiments with the view of 
artificially reproducing the disease have proved negative in every 
case. In spite of the foregoing statements the consensus of opinion 
of eminent investigators points to malignant catarrh as being of 
specific origin; that is. due to some form of microorganism the con- 
tagious character of which is poorly developed. This accounts for 
the slow transmissibility of the disease from one animal to another. 
In fact, malignant catarrh is a type of that class of affections scien- 



4G8 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

tifically known as miasmatic diseases ; that is, they remain stationary 
in stables with damp floors, low ceilings, poor ventilation, and bad 
sanitary conditions in general. Such places furnish a favorable seat 
of propagation for the infective material, and it will remain active 
for a long time, causing the loss of a few animals each year. One 
European veterinarian reports an instance in which the disease re- 
mained for 25 years on the same farm, attacking in all 225 animals, 
with a mortality of about 98 per cent. 

The disease is most common in late winter and early spring, at all 
altitudes, and has a special preference for young, well-nourished 
cattle, although older animals are not immune. The time between 
the entrance of the infective principle into the body of the animal 
and the appearance of the first symptoms is relatively very long, 
averaging, according to German investigators, from 20 to 30 days. 
Fortunately, it is not a disease which spreads to any great extent 
or which causes severe losses, and hence legislative enactments do 
not seem to be necessary for its restriction. 

Symptoms. — These are extremely variable according to the point 
of localization of the lesions. It is usually ushered in with a chill, 
followed by a marked rise of temperature (104° to 107° F.). The 
head droops, the skin is hot and dry, and the coat staring. Quiv- 
ering of the muscles in various parts of the body is frequently 
observed. Marked dullness of the animal, passing, according to 
some observers, into an almost stupefied condition later on, is quite 
common. The secretion of milk stops in the beginning of the dis- 
ease, and loss of flesh, invariably associated with the disease, is 
extremely marked and rapid. The lesions of the eyes may best be 
likened to moon blindness (periodic ophthalmia) in horses. 

There is first an abundant secretion of tears, which run down the 
face. The lids are swollen and inflamed, and indeed this may be so 
marked as to cause involuntary eversion, exposing the reddened 
conjunctiva to view. Sunlight is painful, as is shown by the fact 
that the animal keeps the eyes continuously closed. This inflamma- 
tion may extend to the cornea, causing it to assume a slightly 
clouded appearance in mild cases or a chalky whiteness in more 
severe affection. Cases of ulceration of the cornea followed by 
perforation and subsequent escape of the aqueous humor, leading to 
shrinking of the eyeball and permanent loss of sight, have been re- 
corded, but these are relatively rare, although slight inflammation of 
the deeper structures of the eye (iris) are more frequent. In mild 
cases this inflammation may undergo complete resolution, but more 
frequently permanent cloudliness of the cornea, either diffuse or in 
spots (leucoma), is the result. The mucous membrane of the mouth, 
nose, sinuses of the head, throat; and lower respiratory passages are 



MALIGNANT CATARRH. 469 

also involved. It is first catarrhal in character, but soon a false or 
diphtheritic membrane is formed, with the production of shallow 
ulcers. There is dribbling of saliva from the mouth and discharge 
from the nose, at first watery, becoming thicker and mixed with Mood 
and small masses of cast-off croupous membrane, causing a very fetid 
odor. These croupous areas when they form in the throat, larynx, or 
windpipe, may lead to narrowing of the passages, with consequent 
difficult breathing and even suffocation. Various respiratory mur- 
murs may also be heard, caused by the to-and-fro movement of mucus 
and inflammatory deposits along the air passages. There is also 
inflammation of the horn core with consequent loosening of the horn 
shell, and the horns are thus readily knocked off h^y the uneasj 7 , blind 
sufferer. The animal may refuse all feed from the time of the initial 
rise of temperature, or in less severe cases, and especially when the 
lesions of the digestive tract are not so marked, the appetite may 
remain until the disease is well advanced. Constipation is quite 
common at the commencement of the attack, followed by diarrhea 
and severe straining, the evacuations becoming very soft, fetid, and 
streaked with blood. Cases of the evacuation of desquamated patches 
of diphtheritic membrane from the intestinal mucosa 6 to 9 feet in 
length have been reported. The kidneys and bladder are usually 
inflamed, the urine being voided with difficulty and the animal 
evincing signs of pain. Inflammatory elements, as albumen, casts, 
etc., may be seen on examination of the urine. In cows the mucous 
membrane of the vestibule is congested, swollen, and may contain 
ulcers and an excessive quantity of mucus. Abortion during ad- 
vanced pregnancy is not infrequent, following a severe attack. In 
connection with these various symptoms there may be much uneasi- 
ness on the part of the animal, leading in some cases to madness and 
furious delirium, in others to spasms and convulsions or paralysis. 
A vesicular eruption of the skin may occur, seen principally between 
the toes and on the inside of the flank and in the armpits, with sub- 
sequent loss of hair and epidermis. 

Like other infectious diseases, malignant catarrh pursues a longer 
or shorter course in accordance with the severity of the attack. In 
acute cases death is said to take place three to seven days after the 
appearance of symptoms. Recovery, if it occurs, may take three or 
four weeks. According to statistics, from 50 to 90 per cent of the 
affected animals die. 

If animals which have died of this disease are examined, in addi- 
tion to the changes of the mucous membrane of mouth and nasal cavi- 
ties referred to above, shallow ulcers in these situations will be found 
occasionally. These necrotic processes may pass beneath the mucous 
membrane and even involve the underlying bony structure. In severe 



470 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

cases membranous (croupous) deposits are found in the throat. 
Similar deposits have been found upon the mucous membrane of the 
fourth stomach and intestine, which is always inflamed. There is 
more or less inflammation of the membranes of the brain, kidneys, 
and liver, and some fatty degeneration of the voluntary muscles. In 
countries where rinderpest occasionally appears it may be difficult 
to distinguish between it and malignant catarrh, owing to a general 
similarity of the symptoms. The principal points to be observed in 
differentiating between the two are the very slight transmissibility 
of the latter as compared with the intense contagiousness of the 
former, and the tendency of malignant catarrh to run a more chronic 
course than rinderpest, which usually results fatally in a very few 
days. Only a trained veterinarian who takes into consideration all 
the different symptoms and lesions of both diseases should decide 
in such cases. 

Treatment. — There is no specific treatment for this affection. 
Copious blood letting in the earliest stages has been highly recom- 
mended, however, as this has a tendency to deplete the system and 
lessen the exudation of inflammatory products. Antiseptic washes, 
as creoline, 2 to 4 per cent solution, or lysol, 5 per cent solution, ap- 
plied to the nose, eyes, and mouth with ice poultices over the crest 
of the head and frontal region, have also proved efficacious. Calomel 
should also be given in 1-dram doses twice a day for three days, and 
in severe cases, involving the respiratory tract, a powder containing 
ferrous sulphate, quinin, and subnitrate of bismuth, given twice a 
day, will be found beneficial. At the same time it must be remem- 
bered that much greater success is to be looked for in the preventive 
treatment. This consists in the removal of the healthy from the 
infected animals (not vice versa) and thorough cleaning and disin- 
fecting of the contaminated stables. If the floors are low and damp, 
they should be raised and made dry. If this can not be done, place 
a layer of cement under the stable floor to prevent water from enter- 
ing from below. The stable should be well ventilated and the soil in 
the pastures thoroughly drained. If this is carefully carried out, the 
contagion should be destroyed and the danger of the reappearance of 
the disease in a great measure lessened. 

MALIGNANT EDEMA. 

Malignant edema, also termed gangrenous septicemia, is an acute, 
inflammatory disease of domestic and wild animals, resulting from 
the introduction of a specific organism into the deep connective tissues 
of a susceptible animal and proving fatal in many instances within 
24 to 48 hours. The disease may be inoculated from one animal to 
another, but only by inserting the virus deeply below the skin. It 



MALIGNANT EDEMA. 471 

is infrequently met with in cattle, but may follow operating wounds, 
as roweling, castration, and phlebotomy, which have become infected 
with septic matter, soil, or unclean instruments. In the patho- 
logical laboratory of the Bureau of Animal Industry the organ- 
ism has also been obtained from the infected muscles of a calf 
that was supposed to have died of blackleg, and, as a result, all 
blackleg virus is thoroughly tested before it is made into blackleg 
vaccine in order to exclude the malignant-edema organism. The 
essential cause of malignant edema is a long, slender, motile, spore- 
bearing bacillus, resembling the bacillus of blackleg, and which can 
develop only in the absence of the atmosphere. Unlike the bacilli of 
anthrax and blackleg, which are confined to certain districts, this 
organism is widely distributed and found in ordinary garden soil, 
foul water, and in the normal intestinal tract of the herbivora. It 
may be brought to the surface of the soil by growing plants, rains, 
winds, or burrowing insects and rodents. In animals that have suc- 
cumbed to the disease the germ is confined to the seat of infection, but 
a few hours after death it may migrate through the blood channels 
to other parts of the body. The bacillus may attack man, horses, 
asses, goats, sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, and poultry. Adult cattle, al- 
though refractory to experimental inoculation, suffer from natural 
infection, while calves are susceptible to both these methods of ex- 
posure. (Kitt.) The introduction of the bacillus into abrasions of 
the skin and superficial sores rarely does any harm, because the germ 
is quickly destroyed by contact with air. If, however, the organ- 
isms are inserted deeply into the subcutaneous tissues of susceptible 
animals, they quickly develop, producing a soluble poison, which is 
the fatal agent. 

In lamb-shearing season, or after docking or castration, the mor- 
tality is higher among these- animals because of wounds inflicted at 
such times. The application of antiseptics to wounds thus made will 
reduce the percentage of deaths to a minimum. 

Symptoms. — Usually the first symptoms are overlooked. In the 
early stages the animal appears listless, disinclined to move about, 
and lies down in shady and quiet places. If forced to move about, 
the hind legs are drawn forward with a peculiar, stiff, dragging 
movement, and there may be slight muscular trembling over all the 
body, which becomes more intense as the disease progresses. When 
driven, the animal shows signs of fatigue, ultimately dropping to 
the ground completely exhausted. Breathing becomes fast and 
painful, with frequent spasmodic jerks. 

The pulse is quick and weak and the temperature is 106° to 107° F. 
An edematous, doughy, and painful swelling appears at the point of 
infection. This tumefaction spreads more and more, and crackles 
on pressure. In case of an open wound, a fetid liquid and frothy 



472 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

discharge is observed. The center of the swelling may appear soft 
and jellylike, while the margin is tense, hot, and painful. The symp- 
toms increase rapidly, resulting in coma and death. 

Lesions. — After death the fat and subcutaneous tissues surround- 
ing the infected area are infiltrated with a yellow gelatinous material 
containing an orange-colored foam, due to the presence of gas 
bubbles. 

The muscles at this point are friable, spongy, and of a uniform 
brownish tint, dissociated by gas and with a blood-tinged exudate. 
This gangrenous tissue, when present before death, can be removed 
without pain to the animal. The intestines are generally normal, 
but, together with the peritoneum, they may be inflamed, and the 
lungs are usually the seat of an edema. The spleen, liver, and kid- 
neys retain their normal appearance, in marked contrast with anthrax. 

Differential dim/nosu. — Unlike blackleg, this disease never appears 
as an epizootic but in isolated cases. It may also be differentiated 
from the former by the history of a recent parturition or surgical 
operation, by the presence of an external injury at the site of the 
swelling accompanied with a fetid liquid discharge, and the gan- 
grenous appearance of the tumefaction. Man is susceptible to malig- 
nant edema, but not to blackleg. Malignant edema may also be easily 
differentiated from anthrax in that the blood and spleen are normal in 
appearance, while in the latter disease the blood is dark and of a 
tarlike consistency, and the spleen appears swollen, injected, and 
softened. The local tumor in malignant edema contains gas bubbles, 
which are absent in anthrax swellings. Inoculation experiments of 
guinea pigs, rabbits, and chickens will also disclose the differences 
among the above-mentioned three diseases, since all these species are 
killed by the germ of malignant edema, only the first two species 
by the anthrax bacillus, while the guinea pig alone will succumb to 
the blackleg infection. 

Treatment. — Treatment is chiefly surgical and consists in laying 
the infected areas wide open by free incision, followed by a liberal 
application of a 30 per cent solution of hydrogen dioxid and subse- 
quently a 5 per cent solution of carbolic acid. Usually the disease 
when observed has advanced to such an extent that medicinal inter- 
ference is without avail. Preventive treatment is by far the most 
desirable, and consists, essentially, in a thorough disinfection of all 
accidental and surgical wounds, the cleansing of the skin, and the 
exclusion of soil, filth, and bacteria during surgical operations of any 
nature. Sheds, barns, and stables should receive a thorough applica- 
tion of quicklime or crude carbolic acid wash after all rubbish has 
been removed and burned. All dead animals should be burned or 
deeply buried and covered well with quicklime. 



TEXAS FEVER. 473 

SOUTHERN CATTLE FEVER (TEXAS FEVER, TICK FEVER). 

[Tls. XLIV-XLIX.] 

This disease, which is more commonly known as Texas fever, and 
sometimes as splenetic fever, is a specific fever communicated by cattle 
which have recently been moved northward from the infected dis- 
trict; it is also contracted by cattle taken into the infected district 
from other parts of the world. It is characterized by the peculiarity 
among animal diseases that the animals which disseminate the in- 
fection are apparently in good health, while those which sicken and 
die from it do not, as a rule, infect others. 

It is accompanied with high fever, greatly enlarged spleen, destruc- 
tion of the red blood corpuscles, escape of the coloring matter of the 
blood through the kidneys, giving the urine a deep-red color, with a 
yellowness of the mucous membranes and fat, which is seen more 
especially in fat cattle, by a rapid loss of strength, and with fatal 
results in a large proportion of cases. 

This disease has various names in different sections of the country 
where it frequently appears. It is often called Spanish fever, accli- 
mation fever, red water, black water, distemper, murrain, dry mur- 
rain, yellow murrain, bloody murrain, Australian tick fever, and 
tristeza of South America. 

The earliest accounts we have of this disease date back to 1814, 
when it is was stated by Dr. James Mease, before the Philadelphia 
Society for Promoting Agriculture, that the cattle from a certain 
district in South Carolina so certainly disease all others with which 
they mix in their progress to the North that they are prohibited by 
the people of Virginia from passing through the State; that these 
cattle infect others while they themselves are in perfect health, and 
that cattle from Europe or the interior taken to the vicinity of the 
sea are attacked by a disease that generally proves fatal. Similar 
observations have been made in regard to a district in the southern 
part of the United States indicated by the shaded area on the map, 
Plate L. The northern limits of this area are changed yearly as a 
result of the dissemination or eradication of the cattle tick along 
the border, but the infected area has gradually decreased, owing to 
the successful endeavors pushed forward to eliminate the ticks. 

It was the frequent and severe losses following the driving of cattle 
from the infected district in Texas into and across the Western States 
and Territories which led to the disease being denominated Texas 
fever. It is now known, however, that the infection is not peculiar 
to Texas or even to the United States, but that it also exists in 
southern Europe, Central and South America, Australia, South 
Africa, and the West Indies. 



474 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

When cattle from other sections of the country are taken into tli8 
infected district they contract this disease usually during the first 
summer, and if they are adult animals, particularly milch cows or fat 
cattle, nearly all die. Calves are much more likely to survive. The 
disease is one from which immunity is acquired, and therefore calves 
which recover are not again attacked, as a rule, even after they be- 
come adult. 

When the infection is disseminated beyond the permanently in- 
fected district, the roads, pastures, pens, and other inclosures are 
dangerous for susceptible animals until freezing weather. The infec- 
tion then disappears, and cattle may be driven over the grounds or 
kept in the inclosures the succeeding summer and the disease will not 
reappear. There are some exceptions to this rule in the section just 
north of the boundary line of the infected district. In this locality 
the infection sometimes resists the winters, especially if they are 
mild. 

In regard to the manner in which the disease is communicated, 
experience shows that this does not occur by animals coming near or 
in contact with one another. It is an indirect infection. The cattle 
from the infected district first infect the pastures, roads, pens, cars, 
etc., whence the susceptible cattle obtain the virus secondhand. 
Usually animals do not contract the disease when separated from in- 
fected pastures by a fence. If, however, there is any drainage or 
washing by rains across the line of fence this rule does not hold good. 

The investigations made by the Bureau of Animal Industry demon- 
strate that the ticks which adhere to cattle from the infected district 
are the only known means of conveying the infection to susceptible 
cattle. The infection is not spread by the saliva, the urine, or the 
manure of cattle from the infected district. In studying the causa- 
tion and prevention of this disease, attention must therefore be 
largely given to the tick, and it now seems apparent that if cattle 
could be freed from this parasite when leaving the infected district 
they would not be able to spread the malady. The discovery of the 
connection of the ticks with the production of the disease has played 
a very important part in determining the methods that should be 
adopted in preventing its spread. It established an essential point 
and indicated many lines of investigation which have yielded and are 
still likely to yield very important results. 

Nature of the disease. — Texas fever is caused by an organism which 
lives within the red blood corpuscles and breaks them up. It is there- 
fore simply a blood disease. The organism does not belong to the 
bacteria but to the protozoa. It is not, in other words, a microscopic 
plant, but it belongs to the lowest forms of the animal kingdom. 
This very minute organism multiplies very rapidly in the body of the 
infected animal, and in acute cases causes an enormous destruction 



TEXAS FEVER. 475 

of red corpuscles in a few days. How it gets into the red corpuscle 
it is not possible to state, but it appears that it enters as an exceed- 
ingly minute body, probably endowed with motion, and only after it 
has succeeded in entering the corpuscle does it begin to enlarge. 
Plate XLV, figure 4, illustrates an early stage of this blood para- 
site. The red corpuscle contains a very minute, roundish body which 
is stained blue to bring it into view. The body is, as a rule, situated 
near the edge of the corpuscle. Figure 5 illustrates an older stage in 
the growth of the parasite, in fact the largest which has thus far been 
detected. It will be noticed that there are usually two bodies in a 
corpuscle. These bodies are in general pear-shaped. The narrow 
ends are always toward each other when two are present in the same 
corpuscle. If we bear in mind that the average diameter of the red 
blood corpuscles of cattle is from - 4 J - to - 5 \ - inch, the size of the 
contained parasite may be at once appreciated by a glance at the 
figures referred to. 

The various disease processes which go on in Texas fever, and 
which we may observe by examining the organs after death, all result 
from the destruction of the red corpuscles; this destruction may be 
extremely rapid or slow. When it is rapid we have the acute, usually 
fatal, type of Texas fever, which is always witnessed in the height 
of the Texas- fever season; that is, during the latter weeks of August 
and the early weeks of September. When the destruction of corpus- 
cles is slower, a mild, usually nonfatal, type of the disease is called 
forth, which is only witnessed late in autumn or more rarely in July 
and the early part of August. Cases of the mild type occurring thus 
early usually become acute later and terminate fatally. 

The acute disease is fatal in most cases, and the fatality is due not 
so much to the loss of blood corpuscles as to the difficulty which the 
organs have in getting rid of the waste products arising from this 
wholesale destruction. How great this may be a simple calculation 
will serve to illustrate. In a steer weighing 1,000 pounds, the blood 
in its body weighs about 50 pounds, if we assume that the blood 
represents one-twentieth of the weight of the body, which is a rather 
low estimate. According to experimental determination at the 
bureau station, which consists in counting the number of blood 
corpuscles in a given quantity of blood from day to day in such an 
animal, the corpuscles contained in from 5 to 10 pounds of blood 
may be destroyed within 24 hours. The remains of these corpuscles 
and the coloring matter in them must be either converted into bile 
or excreted unchanged. The result of this effort on the part of the 
liver causes extensive disease of this organ. The bile secreted by the 
liver cells contains so much solid material that it stagnates in the 
finest bile canals and chokes these up completely. This in turn inter- 
feres with the nutrition of the liver cells and thev undergo fattv de- 



476 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

generation and perish. The functions of the liver are thereby com- 
pletely suspended and death is the result. This enormous destruc- 
tion of corpuscles takes place to a large extent in the kidneys, where 
a great number of corpuscles containing the parasites are always 
found in acute cases. This accounts largely for the blood-colored 
urine, or red water, which is such a characteristic feature of Texas 
fever. The corpuscles themselves are not found in the urine; it is 
the red coloring matter, or hemoglobin, which leaves them when they 
break up and pass into the urine. 

Symptoms. — After a period of exposure to infected soil, which 
may vary from 13 to 90 days, and which will be more fully discussed 
under the subject of cattle ticks as bearers of the Texas-fever para- 
site, the disease first shows itself in dullness, loss of appetite, and a 
tendency to leave the herd and stand or lie down alone. A few days 
before these symptoms appear the presence of a high fever may be 
detected by the clinical thermometer. The temperature rises from 
a normal of 101° to 103° F. to 106° and 107° F. There seems to be 
little or no change in temperature until recovery or death ensues. 
The period of high temperature or fever varies considerably. As it 
indicates the intensity of the disease process going on within, the 
higher it is the more rapid the fatal end. When it does not rise 
above 104° F. the disease is milder and more prolonged. 

The bowels are mostly constipated during the fever; toward the 
end the feces may become softer and rather deeply tinged with bile. 
The urine shows nothing abnormal during the course of the disease 
until near the fatal termination, when it may be deeply stained with 
the coloring matter cf the blood. (Hemoglobinuria; see PI. XLV, 
fig. 3.) Although this symptom is occasionally observed in animals 
which recover, yet it may generally be regarded as an indication of 
approaching death. The pulse and respiration are usually much 
more rapid than during health. 

Other symptoms in addition to those mentioned have been de- 
scribed by observers, but they do not seem to be constant, and only 
those described above are nearly always present. As the end ap- 
proaches emaciation becomes very marked, the blood is very thin 
and watery, and the closing of any wound of the skin by clots is re- 
tarded. The animal manifests increasing stupor and may lie down 
much of the time. Signs of delirium have been observed in some 
cases. Death occurs most frequently in the night. 

The duration of the disease is very variable. Death may ensue 
in from three days to several weeks after the beginning of the fever. 
Those that recover ultimately do so very slowly, owing to the 
great poverty of the blood in red corpuscles. The flesh is regained 
but very gradually, and the animal may be subjected to a second, 



TEXAS FEVER. 477 

though mild, attack later on in the autumn, which pushes the full 
recovery onward to the beginning of winter. 

In the mild type of the disease, which occurs in October and No- 
vember, symptoms of disease are well-nigh absent. There is little 
if any fever, and if it were not for loss of flesh and more or less dull- 
ness the disease may pass unnoticed, as it undoubtedly does in a 
majority of cases. If, however, the blood corpuscles are counted from 
time to time a gradually diminishing number will be found, and 
after several weeks only about one-fifth or one-sixth of the normal 
number are present. It is indeed surprising how little impression 
upon the animal this very impoverished condition of the blood ap- 
pears to make. It is probable, however, that if two animals kept 
under the same conditions, one healthy and the other at the end of 
one of these mild attacks, are weighed, the difference would be plainly 
shown. 

Pathological changes observable after death. — In the preceding 
pages some of these have already been referred to in describing the 
nature of the disease. It is very important at times to determine 
whether a certain disease is Texas fever or some other disease, like 
anthrax, for example. This fact can, as a rule, be determined at 
once by a thorough microscopic examination of the blood. The 
necessary apparatus and the requisite qualifications for this task 
leave this method entirely in the hands of experts. There are, how- 
ever, a considerable number of changes caused by this disease which 
may be detected by the naked eye when the body has been opened. 
Put together they make a mistake quite impossible. The presence of 
small ticks on the skin of the escutcheon, the thighs, and the udder 
is a very important sign in herds north of the Texas- fever line, as it 
indicates that they have been brought in some manner from the South 
and have carried the disease with them, as will be explained later. 
Another very important sign is the thin, watery condition of the 
blood, either just before death or when the fever has been present for 
four or five days. A little incision into the skin will enable any one 
to determine this point. Frequently the skin is so poor in blood that 
it may require several incisions to draw a drop or more. 

The changes in the internal organs, as found on post-mortem ex- 
aminations, are briefly as follows: The spleen, or milt, is much larger 
than in healthy animals. It may weigh three or four times as much. 
When it is incised the contents or pulp is blackish (see PI. XLIV, 
fig. 1), and may even well out as a disintegrated mass. The mark- 
ings of the healthy spleen (fig. 2) are all effaced by the enormous 
number of blood corpuscles which have collected in it, and to 
which the enlargement is attributable. Next to the spleen the liver 
will arouse our attention. (See PL XLV, fig. 2.) It is larger than 



478 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

in the healthy state, has lost its natural brownish color (fig. 1), and 
now has on the surface a paler, yellowish hue. When it is incised 
this yellowish tinge, or mahogany color, as it has been called by 
some, is still more prominent. This is owing to the large quantity of 
bile in the finest bile capillaries, and as these are not uniformly filled 
with it the cut surface has a more or less mottled appearance. This 
bile injection causes in many cases a fatty degeneration of the liver 
cells, which makes the organ appear still lighter in color. 

In all cases the gall bladder should be examined. This is dis- 
tended with bile, which holds in suspension a large number of 
yellow flakes, so that when it is poured into a tall bottle to settle 
fully one-half or more of the column of fluid will be occupied by a 
layer of flakes. If mucus is present at the same time, the bile may 
become so viscid that when it is poured from one glass to another it 
forms long bands. The bile in health is a limpid fluid, containing 
no solid particles. 

If the animal during life has not been observed to pass urine 
colored with blood or red water, the bladder should be opened. This 
quite invariably, in acute cases, contains urine which varies in color 
from a deep port wine to a light claret. In many cases the color is 
so dense that light will not pass through even a thin layer. (PI. 
XLV, fig. 3.) The kidneys are always found congested in the acute 
attack. The disease exerts but little effect on the stomach and 
intestines beyond more or less reddening of the mucous membrane; 
hence an examination of them may be safely omitted. The lungs 
are, as a rule, not diseased. The heart usually shows patches of 
blood extravasation on the inside (left ventricle) and less markedly 
on the outer surface. 

We have observed jaundice of the various tissues but very rarely. 
It has been observed by some quite regularly, however. 

During the hot season about 90 per cent of the susceptible mature 
animals from a noninfected district die, but later, in the cool weather, 
the disease assumes a milder type, with a consequent decrease in the 
number of deaths. 

The cattle tick, Margaropus annulatus, as the carrier of Texas 
fever. (Pis. XL VI, XLVII, and XL VIII.)— The cattle tick is, as 
its name indicates, a parasite of cattle in the southern part of the 
United States. It belongs to the group of Arthropod a and to the 
genus Margaropus (or Boophilus), which is included in the order 
A carina. Its life history is quite simple and easily traced from one 
generation to another. It is essentially a parasite, attaching itself to 
the skin (PI. XL VIII) and drawing the blood of its host. It is 
unable to come to maturity and reproduce its kind unless it becomes 
attached to the skin of cattle, whence it may obtain its food. 



TEXAS FEVER. 479 

The eggs laid on the ground after the female has dropped from 
the host begin to develop at once. When the embryo is fully formed 
within the shell it ruptures this and gains its freedom. The time 
required from the laying of the eggs to their hatching varies consid- 
erably, according to the temperature. In the laboratory in the heat 
of midsummer this was accomplished in about 13 days. In the late 
fall, under the same conditions, it required from four to six weeks. 
The larva after emerging from the egg is very minute, six-legged, 
and is just visible to the naked eye. (PL XL VI, fig. 3.) If these 
larvae are kept on a layer of moist sand or earth in a covered dish, 
they may remain alive for months, but there is no appreciable in- 
crease in size. So soon, however, as they are placed upon cattle 
growth begins. 

On pastures these little creatures soon find their way on to cattle. 
They attach themselves by preference to the tender skin on the 
escutcheon, the inside of the thighs, and on the base of the udder. 
Yet when they are very numerous they may be found in small num- 
bers on various parts of the body, such as the neck, the chest, and 
the ears. (PI. XL VIII and PL XLIX, fig. 1.) 

The changes which they undergo during their parasitic existence 
were first studied by Dr. Cooper Curtice, of the Bureau of Animal 
Industry, in 1889. The young tick molts within a week, and the sec- 
ond or nymphal stage of the parasite's life is thus ushered in. After 
this change it has four pairs of legs. Within another week another 
molt takes place by which the tick passes from the nymphal to the 
sexual, or adult, stage. Impregnation now takes place, and, with the 
development of the ova in the body, the tick takes an increased quan- 
tity of blood, so that in a few days it becomes very much larger. 
That the rapid growth is due to the blood taken in may be easily 
proved by crushing one. The intestine is distended with a thick, 
tarry mass composed of partly digested blood. When the female has 
reached a certain stage of maturity she drops to the ground and 
begins to lay a large number of eggs, which hatch in the time given 
above. 

The life of the cattle tick is thus spent largely on cattle, and 
although the young, or larvae, may live for a long time on the 
ground in the summer season, they can not mature except as para- 
sites on cattle and horses. We have purposely omitted various details 
of the life history, including that of the male, as they are not neces- 
sary to an understanding of our present subject — Texas fever. How 
this is transmitted we will proceed to consider. Before the enforce- 
ment of the Federal quarantine southern cattle sent north during the 
spring and summer months carried on their bodies large numbers of 
the cattle ticks, which, when matured, would drop off and la}' their 



480 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

eggs in the northern pastures. After hatching, the young ticks would 
soon get upon any northern cattle which happened to be on the pas- 
ture. So soon as they attached themselves to the skin they inocu- 
lated the cattle, and Texas fever would break out a week or more 
thereafter. For many years there had been a growing suspicion that 
the cattle tick was in some way concerned in the spread of Texas 
fever, and the facts which supported this supposition finally became 
so numerous and convincing that a series of experiments was inaugu- 
rated by the Bureau of Animal Industry which served to show that 
the tick is abundantly able to carry the disease to a herd of healthy 
cattle, and, in fact, is probably the only agent concerned in the trans- 
mission of the disease from southern cattle to susceptible northern 
animals. 

Injurious effects of cattle ticks. — Unfortunately many cattle owners 
who have always been accustomed to see both ticks and ticky cattle 
on their farms are not inclined to attach much importance to these 
parasites, and, as a rule, through lack of appreciation of their dam- 
aging effects, placidly consider them as of little consequence. That 
ticks may be detrimental to their hosts in several ways has probably 
not suggested itself to these stockmen, who are most vitally affected, 
and it therefore seems necessary to emphasize the fact that, in ad- 
dition to their relation to Texas fever, they may also be injurious 
to cattle as external parasites. While the power of transmitting 
Texas fever is undoubtedly the most dangerous property possessed 
by the cattle tick and is the principal cause for adopting stringent 
measures looking to its complete eradication, nevertheless there still 
remain other good reasons for the accomplishment of this achieve- 
ment. These secondary objections to the presence of ticks on cattle 
consists in the physical harm they do to the host aside from the pro- 
duction of the specific disease of Texas fever. True, a few parasites 
may remain on cattle indefinitely without causing any noticeable 
effect, but it is not uncommon to notice bovine animals on pastures 
with their hides heavily infested with these pests. In such cases it 
can readily be seen that the continuous sucking of blood causes more 
or less impoverishment of the circulation. The animal must there- 
fore be fed more in order to meet the demands of the parasites in 
addition to the ordinary needs of the host. If the ticks are removed 
from the body, the bites inflicted are often distinguished by small, 
inflamed or reddened areas somewhat swollen, with perforations of 
the skin which may allow the entrance of various kinds of disease 
germs, and showing that more or less irritation of the hide is pro- 
duced by these parasites. This condition, together with the loss of 
blood, frequently induces an irritable state and evidence of uneasiness 
commonly known as " tick worry," which results in the loss of energy 
and other derangements of the animal's health. It may in some cases, 



TEXAS FEVEK. 481 

especially in hot weather, become so pronounced that the animal will 
lose flesh in spite of good pasturing, thereby reducing the vitality 
and rendering it more susceptible to the inroads of disease. More- 
over, if the infestation of ticks is not controlled, the cattle may be so 
reduced in condition that growth is retarded, and, in the case of 
young animals, they may never become fully developed, but remain 
thin, weak, and stunted — a condition that has been termed " tick pov- 
erty " — and easily succumb to other diseases as a result of lowered 
vitality. In milch cows this debilitating influence of the numerous 
ticks is shown in a greatly reduced milk supply. This should not 
appear strange when it is considered that some animals harbor several 
thousand of the bloodsucking parasites. If these parasites are 
crushed, it will be found that their intestines are completely filled 
with a dark, thick mass of blood abstracted from the animal host 
and containing nutriment that should go to the formation of milk, 
flesh, and the laying on of fat. In some rare cases the large number 
of bites on a limited area of skin may be followed by infection with 
pus-producing organisms, giving rise to small abscesses which may 
terminate in ulcers. The discharge from these sores, or in some cases 
the mere oozing of blood serum through the incision made by the 
mouth parts of the ticks, keeps the hair moist and matted together, 
and the laying and hatching of fly eggs in these areas give rise to 
infestation with destructive maggots, causing ulcers and other com- 
plications that require medical treatment. These statements regard- 
ing the secondary injurious effects of cattle ticks also apply to those 
ticks which have been previously spoken of as harmless so far as 
Texas fever is concerned, and, in fact, to all external parasites. There- 
fore, it is just as important to eradicate the cattle ticks for reasons 
other than those associated with Texas fever as it is to exterminate 
lice, fleas, and other vermin. Furthermore, cattle ticks, aside from 
the losses sustained by their purely parasitic effects, are the greatest 
menace to the profitable raising and feeding of cattle in the South, 
because they are an obstacle to cattle traffic between the infected and 
noninfected districts. 

Loss occasioned by cattle ticks. — The economic aspect of the tick 
problem is unquestionably of the greatest practical interest, since 
the fundamental importance of all the other questions which sur- 
round it depends upon the actual money value involved. It would 
therefore seem advisable to furnish a few statistics showing the 
financial loss sustained by the country as a result of the presence of 
this parasite. It is well known that those animals coming from an 
infected district and sold in the " southern pens " of northern stock- 
yards bring about one-half a cent less per pound than the quoted 
market price. The handicap that is placed on the southern cattle 
raiser as a result of this decrease in value of his stock will average 
33071°— 16 31 



482 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

at this figure $3 per head, allowing an individual weight of 600 
pounds for all classes of animals, so that the loss on approximately 
2,000,000 southern cattle from the quarantined area, including stock, 
beef, and dairy animals, marketed yearly under these conditions 
will sum up a loss of $6,000,000 per annum. Carrying this estimate 
still further, it will be found that this decreased value reacts and 
fixes the valuation of all cattle which remain in the infected territory r 
thereby reducing the assets of the cattle industry of that section by this 
ratio per head for the 11,000,000 cattle which are at this time (Janu- 
ary, 1916) estimated to be below the quarantine line; or, altogether, 
the enormous shrinkage in value of $33,000,000 directly chargeable 
to the cattle tick. This last sum, however, should not be considered in 
determining the yearly devastation caused by the cattle tick, but 
rather as an unnecessary reduction in the assets of the infected 
country. This loss does not include the decrease in flesh and lack of 
development of southern cattle occasioned by the parasitic life of 
the ticks from without and by the blood-destroying and enervating 
properties of- the protozoan parasites from within, an additional loss 
which is so very great that a conservative estimate would place it 
at not less than $20,000,000 for the cattle annually marketed. 

The presence of the tick among the cattle of the South not only 
lessens the value of the cattle on the hoof but causes the gradings of 
hides that have been infested with ticks as No. 4 quality. The same 
hide, if free from tick marks, would grade No. 2. The difference 
in price between these two grades of hides is 3 cents a pound. As 
the hide of a southern steer weighs about 42 pounds, the presence of 
the tick in the hide causes a loss in the hide alone of more than $1.26 
a hide. It has been shown that the cost of tick eradication is only 
about 50 cents a head, so that if the counties make a systematic cam- 
paign to eradicate the tick, the increase in value of the hide alone 
would pay for the cost of tick eradication and leave the farmer a 
net profit of about 76 cents a hide. 

The shrinkage in the milk production of cattle harboring many 
ticks will average 1 quart a day, and the loss occasioned thereby at 
3 cents a quart for the 875,000 ticky dairy cattle out of more than 
3,000,000 dairy cattle below the quarantine line would amount to 
$26,250 a day, or, counting 300 milking days for each cow to the 
year, $7,875,000 per annum. The damage resulting to the southern 
purchaser of northern pure-bred or high-grade cattle is another item 
of no small moment. About 10 per cent of all such cattle taken into 
the South die of Texas fever, even after they are immunized by 
blood inoculations, and about 60 per cent of them succumb to Texas 
fever when not so treated. As they are usually very expensive ani- 
mals and of a highly valued strain of blood, the loss in certain 
cases is excessive and in others almost irreparable, owing to the 



TEXAS FEVER. 483 

possible extinction of some particular type especially selected for 
the improvement of the herd. 

Another instance in which it is difficult to figure the injury done 
by the ticks is in the case of death of nonimmune cattle in the tick- 
free pastures of the South. Such animals are as susceptible to Texas 
fever as nonimmune northern cattle, and inasmuch as there is in 
many States only one out of every four farms infested with ticks, the 
cattle on the remaining farms will in many cases contract Texas 
fever when exposed to the fever tick. These losses can scarcely be 
computed, as the death rate depends so much on the season of the 
year when exposure occurs and on the age of the animal affected. 
However, the deaths among such cattle are considerable, although 
this fact is little appreciated or understood by many outside the in- 
fected area. Thus, if we consider one-tenth of the cattle below the 
line as nonimmunes which contract the disease on exposure to ticks, 
and if we figure on the death rate of 25 per cent of these animals — 
a conservative estimate — the loss would amount to 275,000 animals, 
which, at an estimated value of $20 a head, would amount to a loss 
of $5,500,000 per annum. This sum, excessive as it may seem, rep- 
resents a smaller percentage of loss on the total valuation of neat 
cattle than has been determined by several of the infected States. 

On rare occasions a small outbreak of Texas fever occurs north 
of the quarantine line as a result of improperly disinfected cars, of 
unscrupulous dealers breaking the quarantine regulations, or of 
some accidental condition. Such damage, however, is slight, but 
should be considered in summing up the loss occasioned by the fever 
tick. 

The advertisement which a breeder obtains and the sales which are 
made by having his stock in the efcow ring are usually lost to the 
southern cattle raiser who aspires to display his animals in the 
North, as they are barred from most of these exhibitions. On the 
other hand, the southern farmer is not given an opportunity to see 
and be stimulated by the fine specimens of northern cattle which 
might be shown at southern stock exhibits, for the reason that the 
danger of contracting Texas fever is too patent to warrant such 
exposure. The expense incurred by the Government and the States 
in enforcing the regulations that apply to the quarantine line reaches 
about $65,000 per annum. 

Another loss which is indirectly sustained by the southern cattle 
industry through increased freight rates is the cost, to the railroad 
companies, of cleaning and disinfecting the cars that carry cattle 
and in providing separate pens for them at various places. This 
sum may be calculated at not less than $29,000 per annum. 

If all the above-mentioned losses are added it will be found that the 
Texas-fever tick is responsible for about $40,000,000 of loss annually 



484 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

to the people of the infected country, and that it also lowers the 
assets of the South by an additional $33,000,000. These figures 
are not given as accurate in any particular, but they are sufficiently 
close to indicate that the loss to the quarantined section from the 
cattle tick is something enormous. Such a series of encumbrances as 
those recorded could be carried by the cattle industry of no other 
section of the country than the South, whose excellent pastures, 
rich soil, and salubrious climate are the only reasons for its ability 
to overcome such obstacles in meeting the competition of the West; 
and it is the inherent capacity of the South for greatly increasing its 
herds and enlarging its pasture lands that makes the actual loss 
even secondary to the potential loss from restrictions necessitated by 
the presence of the cattle tick. This potential loss may be described 
as the difference between the value of the cattle industry of the South 
to-day and the extent to which this industry would be increased if 
farmers and ranchmen were assured that their lands and cattle would 
not become infested with fever ticks. Could this assurance be given, 
the beneficial effects would extend over the entire country, because 
the market of the northern breeder would thereby become greatly 
extended. 

These appalling losses and annual sacrifices of the cattle raisers of 
the infected district can be entirely effaced, and this at a small pro- 
portionate cost; for, with enthusiastic stockmen, satisfactory State 
legislation, sufficient money, and a corps of trained inspectors, the 
cattle tick may be exterminated, and every dollar expended in this 
work will be returned many fold during each succeeding year. 

The so-called period of incubation. — After the young ticks have 
attached themselves to cattle the fever appears about 10 days there- 
after, in midsummer. When the weather is cool, as in autumn, this 
period may be a little longer. The actual period of incubation may 
be shorter, for if blood from a case of Texas fever is injected into 
the blood vessels of healthy cattle the fever may appear within five 
days. When cattle graze upon pastures over which southern cattle 
have passed, the time when the disease appears varies within wide 
limits. When the animals have been put upon pastures immediately 
after southern cattle have infected them with ticks, it may take from 
30 to 60 days, or even longer, before the disease appears. This will 
be readily understood when we recall the life history of ticks. The 
southern cattle leave only matured ticks which have dropped from 
them. These must lay their eggs and the latter must be hatched 
before any ticks can get upon native cattle. The shortest period is 
thus not less than 30 days if we include 10 days for the period of 
incubation after the young ticks have attached themselves to native 
cattle. When the infection of pastures with ticks has taken place 



TEXAS FEVEE. 485 

early in the season, or when it is cold, the period is much longer, 
because it takes longer for the eggs to hatch. 

If native cattle are placed upon pastures which have been infected 
with ticks some time before, the disease will appear so much sooner, 
because the young ticks may be already hatched and attack the cattle 
at once. It will be evident, therefore, that the length of time between 
the exposure of native cattle on infected fields and the appearance 
of the disease depends on the date of original infection, and on the 
weather, whether cold or hot. When native cattle are placed upon 
fields on which young ticks are already present, they will show the 
fever in 13 to 15 days if the season is hot. 

The fever appears before the ticks have matured. In fact, they are 
still small enough to be overlooked. In any case very careful search 
should be made for them in those places which they prefer — the 
thighs, escutcheon, and udder. After the acute stage of the fever has 
passed the ticks begin to swell up and show very plainly. (PI. XL VI, 
figs. 6 and 7.) 

Prevention. — It is generally accepted that if southern cattle are 
entirely free from that species of tick known as Margaropus annu- 
laris they can be allowed to mingle with the most susceptible animals 
without danger. Furthermore, it has been learned from the study 
of the life history of the cattle tick and from that fact that this tick 
infests pastures only transiently, never permanently, and will not 
mature except upon cattle or equines, that its extermination is 
possible, and that the disease it causes may be prevented. Therefore 
the various methods with these results in view should be directed 
toward the destruction of ticks on cattle as well as their eradication 
from the pastures. 

The details of these methods of eradication will not be discussed 
here, as this subject is fully treated in Farmers' Bulletin 498, 
" Methods of Exterminating the Texas-fever Tick," which may be 
obtained free upon application to the Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C. 

METHODS OF ERADICATING THE TICKS. 

In undertaking measures for eradicating the tick it is evident that 
the pest may be attacked in two locations, namely, on the pasture 
and on the cattle. 

In freeing pastures the method followed may be either a direct or 
an indirect one. The former consists in excluding all cattle, horses, 
and mules from pastures until all the ticks have died from starvation. 
The latter consists in permitting the cattle and other animals to con- 
tinue on the infested pasture and treating them at regular intervals 
with agents destructive to ticks and thus preventing engorged females 
from dropping and reinfesting the pasture. The larvao on the pas- 



486 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



ture, or those which hatch from eggs laid by females already there, 
will all eventually meet death. Such of these as get upon the cattle 
from time to time will be destroyed by the treatment, while those 
which fail to find a host will starve in the pasture. 

Animals may be freed of ticks in two ways. They may be treated 
with an agent that will destroy all the ticks present, or they may be 
rotated at proper intervals on tick-free fields until all the ticks have 
dropped. • 

PASTURE ROTATION, ETC. 

Time required to hill ticks by starvation. — The time required for 
the ticks to die out after all animals have been removed from infested 
fields and pastures varies considerably, depending principally on 
climatic and weather conditions. The dates when pastures will be 
free of ticks, beginning during each month of the year, are given in 
the following' table : 



Time required to free pastures from ticks by starvation. 



Date of removal of all animals 
from pasture. 



Julyl 

Aug. 1 

Sept. 1 

Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, inclusive 
Dec. 1 



Date when pas- 
ture will be free 
from ticks. 



Mar. 1. 
May 1. 
July 1. 
Aug. 1. 
Aug. 15. 



Date of removal of all animals 
from pasture. 



Dec. 15 to Mar. 15, inclusive 

Apr. 1 

Apr. 15 

May 1 to June 15, inclusive. 



Date when pas- 
ture will be free 
from ticks. 



Sept. 1. 
Sept. 15. 
Oct. 15. 
Nov. 1. 



The table above is based on investigations by Hunter and Hooker l 
at Dallas, Tex., and by Graybill 2 at Auburn, Ala. All the periods 
obtained by Newell and Dougherty (1906) 3 in work carried on at 
Baton Rouge, La., which is much farther south, are shorter. The 
periods above should be found ample for all localities lying no far- 
ther north than Dallas, Tex., or Auburn, Ala. For many localities 
in the southern part of the infested region the periods necessary to 
starve out an infestation are no doubt somewhat shorter than those 
given above. In general, moisture and cold prolong and dryness and 
heat shorten the duration of an infestation. If various portions of 
the same pasture differ with regard to temperature and moisture, as is 
frequently the case, some parts become free of ticks before others do. 
Other things being equal, high, dry, unshaded land becomes tick 
free sooner than low, damp, shady land. 

The simplest and safest plan in most cases, however, is to follow 
the foregoing table in the region indicated for it. It is probable that 

1 Bulletin 72. Bureau of Entomology, T T . S. Department of Agriculture. 

2 Bulletin 130, Bureau of Animal Industry, IT. S. Department of Agriculture. 

3 Circular 10, State Crop Pest Commission of Louisiana. 



TEXAS FEVEB. 



487 



the periods given in the table should be lengthened a little for the 
northern part of the infested region. The experiments conducted 
thus far in various places indicate this, and it will place the eradica- 
tion work in that region on the safe side. For example, E. C. 
Cotton 1 obtained at Knoxville, Tenn., records for September and 
April somewhat longer than those given above. They are as follows : 

Cattle removed April 15 ; pasture free of ticks November 13. 

Cattle removed September 15 ; pasture free of ticks July 18. 

In localities with temperature and other conditions similar to those 
at Knoxville, Tenn., these periods should be followed. 

Time required to render cattle free of ticks when placed on unin- 
fected fields. — Before discussing plans for rendering farms tick free, 
involving the use of the information given in the foregoing table, it 
will be necessary to indicate how animals may be entirely freed from 
ticks by placing them on uninfested fields. This is based on the fact 
that the female tick must drop from the host to the ground before 
eggs can be laid and before young ticks will develop. 

The shortest time in which seed ticks will appear after engorged 
females have been dropped is 20 days. Consequently cattle placed 
on a tick-free field during the warmer part of the year are not in 
danger of becoming infested again with young ticks until 20 days 
have elapsed. The time required for all the ticks to drop after cattle 
have been placed on uninfested land varies with the temperature, 
being much longer during the winter than during the summer. The 
time required, beginning at various times of the year, is given in the 
following table : 

Time required for all ticks to drop front cattle placed on tick-free land. 



When ticky cattle are placed on 
tick-free land during — 



August Six weeks. 

September Do. 

October Eight weeks. 

November Nine weeks. 

January Ten weeks. 

February ! Seven weeks. 



All ticks will 
have dropped 



When ticky cattle are placed on 
tick-free land during — 



March 
April. 
May.. 
June. . 
July.. 



All ticks will 
have dropped 



Seven weeks. 
Six weeks. 

Do. 

Do. 
Five weeks. 



Freeing cattle of ticks by rotation on tick-free land. — The plan of 
freeing cattle of ticks by rotating them from one lot or field to an- 
other is as follows: Beginning at any time from February to Sep- 
tember, inclusive, the cattle are removed from the tick-infested pas- 
ture to a tick-free lot or field and kept there for not more than 20 
days. During this time a considerable number of ticks will drop. 
In order to prevent the cattle from becoming reinfested (by seed 



1 Bulletin 81, Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Tennessee. 



488 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

ticks resulting from eggs laid by females that have dropped), the 
herd is then changed to a second tick-free inclosure for 20 days 
longer, and if they are not free of ticks by that time they are placed 
in a third tick-free inclosure for 20 days more. Should the two 
changes after intervals of 20 days have been made, 60 days will have 
elapsed, which is ample time for all ticks to have dropped during 
the portion of the year indicated, and the animals are then ready 
to be placed on a tick-free pasture or field without danger of be- 
coming reinfested. The periods to free cattle (given in the above 
table) are believed to be ample. It will, however, be a wise precau- 
tion to make a careful examination of the cattle for ticks before 
placing them in the noninfested field they are to occupy. 

During the part of the year from October to February, inclusive, 
the time required for seed ticks to appear after females have dropped 
is much longer than the time necessary for all the ticks to drop from 
cattle; consequently, if it is desired, the herd may be continued on 
the same field for the required length of time without danger of 
becoming reinfested. 

Freeing both cattle and pastures of ticks by the rotation method. — 
The particular scheme of rotation to be followed on a farm depends 
much on the conditions which have to be met. In figures 1 to 4 four 
plans of rotation are represented. In these diagrams no attempt, 
except in a very rough way, has been made to indicate the relative 
size of the fields, as this depends on the number of cattle and on 
various conditions of a more or less local nature. It rests with the 
farmer to select his fields with regard to location and size so as to 
carry out properly and successfully the plan which he adopts. 

The matter of the dissemination of ticks deserves particular atten- 
tion in considering rotation methods. The engorged females which 
drop on a pasture will crawl at most only a few feet. The same may 
be said of the larvae or seed ticks. It is possible, however, for seed 
ticks to be passively carried considerable distances at times. Dogs, 
cats, and other animals which ordinarily pass unhindered over farms 
may become covered with seed ticks while going through one field, 
and later some of them may be brushed off the animal while passing 
through the herbage of an adjoining field. Even though the danger 
of ticks being spread in this manner is not great, it will be well, when 
practicable, to take precautions against it. 

Again, engorged females, eggs, and seed ticks may be carried by 
running water from a pasture without injury in any way. The dan- 
ger from this source is probably greatest where there are many small 
streams subject to frequent floods of short duration and on hillsides 
where the water runs off with great force during heavy rains. This 
will, no doubt, in some localities present a rather serious problem in 
tick eradication. 



TEXAS FEVER. 



489 



Ticks may crawl from the edge of one pasture into an adjoining 
pasture, or engorged females may drop from the heads of animals 
reaching through a dividing fence. These difficulties are best over- 
come by constructing a double fence with an intervening space of 



FIELD N0.2B. 
OCT. 12. MOVE WE HERD. 
TO FIELO N0.3. 



OATS_£QU.OWED BY 
FORAGE 



mm 



FIELD N0.2A. 
SEPT.22.M0VETHE 
HERD TO FIELD 
NO 2 B. 



FIELD N0.3. 
CORN. 
COWPEAS. 



NOI/. I. MOVE THE HERD TO 
HELD NO. I A. 



FIELD NO. 4-. 
COTTON. 
RYE OR CRIMSON 
CLOVER. 



HOUSE. 



PASTURE: BER.MUO/1 ,VET,CH,flND BUR CLOVER. 



FIELD NO. I B. 
SEPT. 2. MOVE THE HERD TO FIELD 
NO. 2/1. KEEP OUT ALL RNIMHLS 
UNTIL JULY I, WHEN THIS FIELD 
WILL BE FREE OF TICKS AND THE 
TEMPORARY DOUBLE FENCE MAY BE 
REMOVED. 



FIELD NO: I ft. 
JUNE 15. MOVE THE HERD TO FIELD 
NO. IB. KEEP OUT ALL ANIMALS 
FROM THIS DATE UNTtL NOV.I.HHEN 
TH/5 FIELD WILL BE FREE OF T/CKS. 



I i 



Fig. 1. — Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, requiring four and 

one-half months. 

15 feet. Such a fence, if the land does not slope greatly, also greatly 
reduces the danger of ticks being washed by rain from one pasture to 
the other. 

Plan requiring four and one-half months. — The plan of rotation 
represented in figure 1 requires four and a half months for its com- 



490 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

pletion. Some time during the spring the pasture is divided in the 
middle by two lines of temporary fence 15 feet apart. The herd is 
first confined in field No. 1A. On June 15 it is moved from this por- 
tion of the pasture to the other portion, designated field No. IB, and 
on September 2 is moved to field No. 2A. The cattle are permitted 
to remain 20 days on each of the fields designated 2A, 2B, and 3. 
At the end of this time (Nov. 1) all the ticks on the cattle have 
dropped, and the herd is returned to field No. 1A, which in the 
meantime has become free of ticks. Later, if it is desired, the cattle 
may be placed in field No. 4. They should not, however, be returned 
to any of the other fields or driven across them, as these are infested 
with ticks. Field No. IB will be free from ticks July 1 of the fol- 
lowing year, at which time the temporary double fence may be re- 
moved and the cattle allowed to graze over the entire pasture. The 
rest of the farm will be free of ticks by August 1. If found desirable, 
the herd may be continued longer in field No. 3, even as late as Feb- 
ruary 15, the only objection to this being that it will break the crop 
rotation by preventing the sowing of oats in the fall. 

It is well, when practicable, to have double fences with an inter- 
vening space of 15 feet between the different fields in order to pre- 
vent the ticks from getting from one field to another. If this is not 
possible on account of the expense and time required to build the 
extra line of fence, the next best thing is to plow several furrows on 
each side of the dividing fences. 

When there are streams running through the farm or the slope of 
the land is considerable, so that ticks ma}' be washed from one field 
to the other during rains, the fields should be so arranged or selected 
that the drainage is from field No. 1A to No. IB, and from field No. 
3 toward fields Nos. 2 A and 2B. 

Plan requiring eight months. — The plan indicated in figure 2 is 
begun fifteen days later than the preceding one and requires eight 
months for its completion. The pasture is divided as before. The 
herd is moved July 1 from field No. 1A to No. IB, and on October 
15 is moved from there to field No. 2. The herd may be continued 
on fields Nos. 2 and 3 until February 15 in any way found most 
convenient, as there is no clanger of young ticks hatching during 
that time. The herd is moved not later than February 15 to field 
No. 4. All the ticks on the cattle will have dropped by December 
20, consequently the herd may be moved to field No. 4 as early as 
that date, if found desirable. 

By March 1 the original pasture is free and the cattle are returned 
there. Field No. IB will be free of ticks by August 1, at which time 
the double fence separating the two parts of the pasture may be 
removed. The rest of the farm will not be certainlv free of ticks 



TEXAS FEVER. 



491 



until September 1. The drainage in general should be from field No. 
1A toward No. IB, and from field No. 4 toward field No. 2. 

Plan requiring f&ur months, with a new pasture. — The plan of 
rotation represented in figure 3 involves changing the location of the 



HELD NO. 2. 

OATS. 

COb/PEAS and 
BURCLOVER . 



MOVE HERD TO FIELD 
NO. 3. 



FIELD N0.3. 

CORN. 

COWPEMS. 



CATTLE WILL BE FREE 
OETICKS BY DEC. 20. 
BETWEEN THIS DATE 
AND FEBB. 15 MOVE THE 
HERO TO FIELD NO.<k 



FIELd N0.4-. 

COTTON. 
RYE AND 
WINTER LEGUMES. 



MRR.I. MOVE THE HERD 
TO FIELD NO. IA. 



HOUSE. 



PERMANENT 

FIELD NO.I B. 
OCT. 1 5- MOVE THE HERD TO FIELD 
NO. 2. 



PASTURE. 



FIELD NO. I A. ^^ 

JULY I.MOVEHEBD TO PASTURE NO.I B. 
KEEP ALL ANIMALS OUT OFTHIS 
FIELD UNTIL MAFU, WHEN IT. MILL BE 
FREE OFTICKS. 



Fig. 2. — Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, requiring eight 

months. 

pasture. The oat field (field No. 4) after the grain has been har- 
vested is reserved for this purpose. It should be sown in cowpeas, 
Bermuda grass, and bur clover. The herd is moved October 15 
from the original pasture, field No. 1. to field No. 2, where it may be 



492 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



kept for a month or two, or until the feed becomes short, then moved 
to field No. 3, where it is kept until February 15, when it is moved 
to the new pasture, field No. 4. The old pasture may be planted in 
oats. The drainage should be from field No. 4 toward field No. 2. 



FIELD NO. 2. 

CORN. 

COOPERS. 



MOVE THE HERD FROM 

THIS FIELD TO FIELD 

N0.3. 



FIELD A/0.3. 

COTTON FOLLOWED 
BY CRIMSON CLOVER, VETCH, 
BUR CLOVER OR RYE. 



FEBR. 15. MOVE THE HERD 
TO FIELD A/0.4-. 



FIELD N0.4-. 

ORTS, 

COk/PERS, 
BERMUDA, 
BUR CLOVER 



becomes the new 
pasture:. 



[HOUSE. 



FIELD NO. I. 
PASTURE. 
OCT. IS MOVE HERD TO FIELD NO. 2. 
PLANT IN O/l T^S AND FOLLOW WITH CQUJPERS. 



Pig. 3. 



-Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation, requiring four 
months, with new pasture. 



The feed-lot or soiling method, requiring four and one-half 
months. — In the plan given in figure 4 the feed-lot or soiling method 
is made use of to free the cattle of ticks. In the spring field No. 3B, 
located near the farmyard, is sown in corn for a soiling crop. The 
area devoted to corn should be sufficient to supply feed for the herd 



TEXAS FEVER. 



493 



for five or six weeks. Field No. 3A, after the oats are harvested, 
should be sown in sorghum and cowpeas or millet and cowpeas, and 
should be large enough to furnish feed for the herd until November 
1. These fields should not have had cattle on them for at least 10 
months. 



FIELD N0.4r 
CORN. 

COUPE/13. 



FIELD NO.3/9. 
0AT<5. 
SORGHUM AND COISPEAS. 

OR 
MILLET AND COWPEAS. 



NOI/.I. RETURN HERD TO PASTURE. 



FIELD N0.3B. 
DRILLED CORN FOR SOILING CROP. 



L0TN0.3. 
AUG. lt-,M0t/E 
HERD TO 
EIELDN03A 



L0TN0.2. 

MLY2S.M0VE 

HERD JO LOT 

NO. 3. 



L0TNO.I. 

JULYJ.MOI/E 

HERD TO L01 

NO. 2.. 



FIELD NO.Z. 
COTTON. 
COWPEAS. 



FIELD NO. I. 
-. PASTURE. 

JUNE 15. MOl/E HERD TO LOT NO. I. 
KEEPALL ANIMALS OUT OF THIS HELD UNTI L NOI/. I, WHEN IT WILL 
BE FREE OF TICKS. 



Fig. 4. 



-Plan for freeing cattle and pastures from ticks by rotation ; feed-lot or soiling 

method. 



Prior to June 15 three lots, each large enough to accommodate 
the herd, are fenced off in field No. 3B. These lots should not be 
on a stream, and the drainage should be from field No. 3A toward 
field No. 3B. There should be a space of 15 feet or more between 
the lots. On June 15 the herd is moved to lot No. 1, and afterwards 



494 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

to lots Nos. 2 and 3 at intervals of 20 days. After the cattle have 
spent the required time in lots Nos. 1 and 2, if it is found after a 
careful examination made by some one familiar with such work that 
the cattle are free of ticks, they may be turned directly into field 
No. 3A. If they are not free they should be placed in lot No. 3 
until they are free, or, if this can not be determined with certainty, 
until 15 or 20 days more have elapsed, which will be much longer 
than ncessary for all ticks to drop during July and August. 

If desirable, the corn in each lot may be cut and removed before 
the cattle are placed in it. As soon as possible after the cattle are 
removed from a lot the female ticks and eggs present on the ground 
should be plowed under and the ground along the fence sprayed 
with crude petroleum or some other disinfectant to prevent any seed 
ticks which may hatch from getting beyond the area of the lot. 
Another valuable precaution will be to use for feed, so far as pos- 
sible, the corn opposite or in advance of the lot in which the cattle 
are located, as this is less liable to harbor seed ticks. 

The pasture will be free of ticks by November 1, and the cattle 
may then be returned there if desired. The herd may, however, be 
kept on field No. 3A as long after that date as the forage lasts, or, 
in case of a shortage of feed before November 1, it may be moved 
to either field No. 2 or 4, provided one of them is ready for pastur- 
age. These fields may be used for fall and winter pasturage in any 
way that may be found desirable. 

DIPPING, SPRAYING, AND HAND DRESSING. 

Ticks upon cattle may be destroyed by using various " tickicides," 
such as oils, arsenic, etc. These may be applied in three ways, 
namely, by hand, by the use of spray pumps, and by means of the 
dipping vat. 

Hand application is practicable only when a few animals are to be 
treated. The substances of value in this method are a mixture of 
lard and kerosene, cotonseed oil, or a half-and-half mixture of 
cottonseed oil and kerosene, and finally, crude petroleum. Any of 
these may be applied with a mop or a good-sized paint brush, but 
unless great pains are taken this method of treatment is not thor- 
ough, and even at the best some portions of the body where ticks 
may be located will be missed. If crude petroleum is used, care must 
be observed in its application, as cattle are liable to be injured by it, 
particularly in hot weather. 

Spraying is advisable only in cases in which there are but a few 
animals to be treated, and when impossible to obtain facilities for 
dipping them. The arsenical mixture or the crude petroleum or 



TEXAS FEVER. 



495 



emulsions of the same may be applied by means of an ordinary pail 
spraying pump. (Fig. 5.) 

Dipping in a vat is on the whole the best and cheapest method of 
treating cattle for the destruction of ticks. 

Dipping in a vat.-^ Farms and pastures may be freed of ticks by 
treating all cattle regularly every two to three weeks with an effective 




Fig. 5. — I'ail spraying pump for small herds. 



tick-destroying agent. If the treatment is applied with such suc- 
cess as to destroy all ticks that reach the cattle from time to time, 
thus preventing any engorged females from dropping on the pasture 
after the beginning of the treatment, the pasture will become free 
of ticks after the same period of time has elapsed as would have been 
required if all animals had been excluded, beginning on the same 
date; that is, a perfectly successful treatment would be practically 



496 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the same as the complete exclusion of the herd. The dates on which 
the starving out of an infestation will be effected when begun at 
various times of the year have already been given in the table on 
page 486. In actual practice, however, as some ticks may escape 
and reinfest the pasture, the time necessary to accomplish eradication 
may be somewhat prolonged beyond the periods indicated in the 
table. This method offers the advantage that the pasture may be 
used continuously, and is the one usually followed. 

Many efforts have been made to discover a practical method for 
dipping cattle to destroy ticks without injury to the cattle, and the 
bureau has experimented for years with this object in view. Numer- 
ous kinds of dips have been used, and many failures have been 
recorded, but finally a very satisfactory dip has been discovered in 
an arsenical solution, and arsenical dips, in fact, are now the only 
kind used in tick eradication. 

Preparation and use of arsenical dips. 1 — The formula commonly 
used in making an arsenical dip is as follows : 

Sodium carbonate (sal soda) pounds 24 

Arsenic trioxid (white arsenic) do 8 

Pine tar gallon 1 

Water sufficient to make 500 gallons. 

Put 25 gallons of water into a kettle or tank of 40 to 50 gallons 
capacity, heat to boiling, and add the sal soda. When this has dis- 
solved add the white arsenic, then boil and stir for 15 minutes or 
longer, until the white arsenic has entirely disappeared. Cool to 
140° F. (by the addition of cold water if desired), then pour in the 
pine tar in a thin stream while constantly and vigorously stirring the 
solution. Immediately empty the liquid into the dipping vat, which 
has already been three-fourths filled with water, and stir thoroughly. 

A by-product of the action of sodium carbonate on white arsenic 
is the gas carbon dioxid. The escape of this gas is attended with con- 
siderable foaming of the solution, so the kettle must be generously 
large, and the operation of boiling must have constant watching to 
prevent the liquid from frothing over the edge of the kettle. 

The kettle or tank, utensils, and materials must be perfectly free 
from all greasy or oily substances, as a small quantity of such matter 
is sufficient to form a coating over the arsenic, and thus to prevent 
or delay its solution. 

The boiled dip may be made perfectly well with very hard water, 
but in that case some residue of a fine white or gray powder will be 
left undissolved after boiling. This residue carries no arsenic, but 
arises from the action of the sodium carbonate upon compounds, 
chiefly of lime, in the water. Examination of the liquid after boil- 

1 For fuller information relative to the preparation of arsenic dips, see Farmers' 
Bulletin 603. 



TEXAS FEVER. 497 

ing for a few minutes with the soda before the arsenic has been added 
will show how much residue may be expected from this source. 

In order that dipping in arsenic may be both efficacious in destroy- 
ing ticks and also harmless to the cattle at all times, it is of the 
greatest importance that the dip be of the proper strength, and that 
so far as practicable it be maintained at that strength. Due care in 
making the dip and in calculating the capacity of the vat will, of 
course, assure the correct initial strength of the dip. Providing the 
vat with a waterproof cover will do much to maintain the dip at its 
proper strength by preventing, on the one hand, concentration by 
evaporation, and, on the other hand, dilution by rains. A cover will 
also reduce the risk of cattle being poisoned between dippings, espe- 
cially when the vat is not protected by a fence. During rains the 
water from the draining pen and chute should not be permitted to 
run into the vat and dilute the dip. 

Precautions in the use of arsenic. — Because of the fact that arsenic 
is a poison, great care should be observed in caring for it after it is 
purchased from the druggist, in order that persons and animals may 
not be accidentally poisoned. The dip at the time it is being made 
and also after it is diluted should be handled and protected as a 
poison. Unless such precautions are observed accidents are very 
liable to occur. When, however, arsenic is handled with the proper 
care, there is no more danger in its use on the farm than in the use 
of a number of other poisons that are commonly and regularly used 
by farmers for destroying insect pests of plants and obnoxious 
rodents. 

Persons using the dip, especially with the spray pump, should not 
subject their hands and other portions of the body (by permitting 
their clothing to become wet) to the action of the dip any more than 
is necessary, and it is well to wash the hands thoroughly after each 
spraying, especially when they are frequently exposed to the dip. 
At the time the dip is being prepared, care should be observed not to 
inhale the vapor arising from the caldron or kettle, and during 
spraying the same precaution should be exercised against the inhala- 
tion of the spray. 

In making the dip, weights and measures should not be guessed at, 
and the arsenic especially should be weighed with the greatest care. 

Cattle should always be watered a short time before they are 
dipped. After they emerge from the vat they should be kept on a 
draining floor until the dip ceases to run from their bodies; then they 
should be left in a yard free of vegetation until they are entirely 
dry. If cattle are allowed to drain in places where pools of dip 
collect, from which they may drink, or if they are turned at once on 
the pasture, where the dip will run from their bodies on the grass 
and other vegetation, losses are liable to result. Crowding the ani- 
33071°— 1G 32 



498 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

mals before they are dry should also be prevented, and they should 
not be driven airy considerable distance within a week after dipping, 
especially in hot weather. If many repeated treatments are given, 
the cattle should not be treated oftener than every two weeks. 

In addition to properly protecting vats containing arsenical dip 
when not in use, caution must also be observed when vats are to be 
emptied for cleaning. The dip should not be poured or allowed to 
flow on land and vegetation to which cattle or other animals have 
access. The best plan is to run the dip into a pit properly protected 
by fences. The dip should also not be deposited where it may be 
carried by seepage into wells or springs which supply water used on 
the farm. 

Crude petroleum. — Various kinds of crude petroleum and emulsions 
of it have been used with more or less success in destroying ticks, but 
on account of the difficulty of obtaining suitable grades of oil and the 
liability of injury to cattle, their use has been practically abandoned. 

Method of dipping. — The method usually adopted in dipping cattle 
is to construct a narrow swimming tank with a chute at one end for 
the entrance of the cattle, and a sloping exit at the other end when 
the cattle emerge after passing through the vat. (See PL XLIX,fig. 
2.) A drip chute, or floor, is connected with the exit, where the excess 
of dip is allowed to drip off the animals and to drain into the vat. 
Plans and specifications for installing dipping plants are published 
in Bureau of Animal Industry Circular 207, which may be obtained 
from this department. 

IMMUNIZATION OF SUSCEPTIBLE CATTLE. 

By blood inoculation. — It is often desirable to ship well-bred cattle 
into infested districts that they may be used to improve the quality 
of the native cattle already there. Prior to the discovery of the cause 
of Texas fever it was found to be well-nigh impossible to introduce 
purebred cattle from the North into any of the infected regions 
without suffering great loss — sometimes as high as 90 per cent — 
within a few months of their arrival at their southern destination. 
At first it was thought that the fatalities were due to climatic 
changes, but later the discovery was made that Texas fever was caus- 
ing these numerous deaths. 

It has now been found practicable to immunize this class of cattle 
so perfectly that the losses which f ollow their transportation to a 
tick-infested region are reduced to a minimum. So far as possible, 
young animals 6 to 15 months old should be selected for this pur- 
pose, as they are more readily immunized than adults, are more easily 
handled, and the dangers which may arise from pregnancy while 
undergoing the immunizing treatment are thus avoided. 



TEXAS FEVER. 499 

Immunit}'- in these cattle is obtained by introducing the micro- 
parasite of the blood into their systems. It may be done by direct 
artificial inoculation or bj r placing virulent young ticks upon the 
animals and allowing them to perform the inoculation in the natural 
manner. The subcutaneous injection of a small quantity of defibri- 
nated virulent blood has been found, by means of prolonged experi- 
ment, the preferable method, as the number of microorganisms in- 
troduced can be more accurately gaged from the syringe than by 
allowing the infection to be produced by bites of ticks. Two or three 
inoculations, if repeated after proper intervals, are accomplished 
with greater safety to the animal than would be possible by means of 
a single inoculation. The quantity first injected should be small and 
then gradually increased in the succeeding treatments. 

The inoculation always results in a more or less serious attack of 
Texas fever. Besides having a fever, there is great diminution of 
red blood corpuscles, and in about 3 per cent of the cases a fatal 
termination ; but th6 proportion of deaths resulting from the inocu- 
lation is small when compared with the fatalities among untreated 
animals taken into infested districts. To this number should be 
added those animals (less than 7 per cent) that do not receive sufficient 
immunity by this method and which succumb when exposed to in- 
fested pastures. Combining these failures it will be seen that by this 
method of immunization, instead of a loss of 90 per cent among 
breeding stock taken South more than 90 per cent can be saved. The 
animals should be carefully nursed through the attack and their 
symptoms treated as indicated on page 502. 

Immunizing inoculations are now being made by the veterinarians 
of most of the agricultural experiment stations of the Southern 
States without cost for the services rendered, a charge being made 
merely for the actual value of food consumed and attendants' wages. 
These veterinarians have also issued station bulletins which describe 
fully the necessary steps to be taken in obtaining the blood and in- 
jecting it into the animals to be immunized, so that the stock owner 
may follow the instructions with prospects of getting good results. 

This operation is not a difficult one, and excellent results will fol- 
low when absolute cleanliness and ordinary care have been used, but 
undoubtedly the best results will be obtained bj^ those who have 
thoroughly familiarized themselves with the nature of the disease 
and are experienced in extracting blood from animals. Two methods 
are in use and will be described separately. One consists in drawing 
the blood from the jugular vein of an immune animal and immedi- 
ately injecting it into the cattle to be immunized. It is compara- 
tively simple, requires few instruments, and can be satisfactorily 
carried out when a small number of animals are to be immunized 
and if a suitable immune animal is close at hand. First, select an 



500 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

immune animal which is in good health and which is infested with 
fever ticks or had them the preceding year. Fasten the animal se- 
curely, either by tying, throwing, or by placing in a chute. Clip the 
hair from a space about 4 inches in diameter over the jugular vein 
on the upper third of the neck, wash the skin thoroughly with a 5 
per cent solution of carbolic acid, and then fasten a strap or rope 
around the neck below the hairless area and draw it tight in order 
that the blood in the vein may be stopped, causing distension. With 
a large, hypodermic-syringe needle, previously sterilized in a 5 per 
cent carbolic-acid solution, puncture the vein at a slight angle, direct- 
ing the point forward. When the needle enters the vein the point 
can be rotated freely in contrast to the restricted movements if still 
in the tissues, and the blood will either drop or flow from the opening 
in the needle. Attach the disinfected syringe to the needle with 
piston in and gradually draw out the piston until the chamber of 
the syringe is full of blood, when the needle is withdrawn. The 
blood, before it has had time to clot, is immediately injected into the 
animals to be immunized and which have been previously tied or 
restrained, the hair clipped, and the skin disinfected at the seat of 
injection in the region of the shoulder. From a yearling in fair con- 
dition a pint of blood may be taken without harm, while double this 
quantity may be taken from a 2-year-old, and four or five times as 
much from a 3-year-old or upward. Inject then from 1 to 3 cubic 
centimeters, according to the age of the animal, under the skin of 
each animal until the blood is exhausted. When more animals are 
to be inoculated than one syringeful will inject, the operation may be 
repeated in the same manner. The only objection to this method is 
the possibility of the blood clotting in the syringe, but with practice 
and promptness this can easily be prevented. 

The second method is better suited for the inoculation of a large 
number of cattle or where the immune animal is at a distance from 
the cattle to be immunized. 

The preliminary steps — the clipping of the hair, disinfection of 
the skin, placing the rope around the neck to distend the jugular 
vein, and restraining the animal — are the same as for the first method. 
In puncturing the vein it is advisable to use a small trocar and can- 
nula after sterilizing in a 5 per cent carbolic-acid solution, and, when 
the vein has been entered, to draw out the trocar, allowing the blood 
to flow through the cannula attached to a rubber tube into a perfectly 
clean and sterile vessel containing a 5 per cent solution of citrate of 
potassium or sodium, to prevent the coagulation of the blood. The 
quantity of citrate solution in the container should be one-twentieth 
of the quantity of blood which it is desired to collect. After sufficient 
blood has been drawn for the animals to be injected, a cork is placed 
in the top of the bottle through which passes a long rubber tubing. 



TEXAS FEVER. 501 

At the other end of this tubing is a needle and in the middle is a T 
joint with a syringe at the stem of the T. By the use of valves at 
this joint the withdrawal of the syringe piston pulls the blood from 
the bottle, and the insertion of the piston with closure of the opposite 
valve ejects the blood from the needle. The citrated blood is inocu- 
lated under the disinfected skin of the animals to be immunized, as 
in the first method. This blood may be kept in a dark, cool place 
for one or more months without deteriorating and may be shipped to 
other points for use. 

The place where this injection is made is immaterial, but for con- 
venience a point just behind the shoulder is usually chosen. The dose 
and number of injections vary with the individual animals. When 
a large number of cattle are to be inoculated a special form of syringe 
devised by Pound, of Queensland, may be used. The syringe is so 
arranged by means of tubes and valves, that by simply pulling out 
the piston of the syringe and pushing it in again the correct amount 
of blood is drawn up from the bottle and injected through the needle 
into the animal, thus obviating the necessity of continually filling the 
syringe and measuring out the dose. 

As a rule it maybe stated that 1 cubic centimeter should be injected 
into an old animal coming into the infested district, 2 cubic centi- 
meters for a 2-year-old, and 3 cubic centimeters for an animal 9 to 
15 months old. It will be observed that, unlike the usual custom of 
applying treatment, the older animals take less than the young ones, 
owing to their greater susceptibility to the disease. When an animal 
has reacted well to a first injection and shows a very high tempera- 
ture, great reduction of red blood cells, or other symptoms indicative 
of reaction, it will not be necessary to repeat the injection, but in those 
cases in which the reaction is slight, a second injection should follow 
after an interval of 40 days, and, if need be, a third injection after 
a similar lapse of time, always increasing the size of dose 50 per 
cent. A thermometer, to indicate the course and severity of the 
disease, is indispensable in this work. Usually, after 3 to 10 days, 
sometimes longer, the inoculated animals show a mild type of Texas 
fever, which runs a course of from 6 to 8 days and is followed in 
about 30 days after the injection with a second attack of a milder 
character than the first. After 40 days, when the animal has entirely 
recovered from the inoculation, a second injection may be given 
to increase its immunity. In some cases a very severe type of fever 
follows the first inoculation, requiring careful nursing and treatment, 
as suggested above. A second, milder attack follows usually in about 
30 to 40 days, after which the animal need have no further inocula- 
tions. It is advisable to prevent any ticks from getting on the cattle 
until 60 days after their inoculation or until they have fully recov- 
ered, at which time a few ticks may be placed upon them in order to 



502 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

reenforce their immunity. Naturally this time varies according to 
the type of the attack. As the best results with these immunizing 
experiments have been obtained in cool weather and with young 
cattle, it is recommended that animals from 6 to 15 months old be 
selected for inoculation, and that they be immunized late in the fall 
or winter, in order that they may enter tick-infested pastures in the 
spring without danger. 

By infesting with ticks. — Immunity may also be induced in suscep- 
tible animals by placing limited number of fever ticks upon their 
bodies in order to produce the disease naturally. For this purpose 
only animals less than 1 year of age should be used, as the method is 
not applicable for older and more susceptible animals. Upon the 
bodies of these young cattle from 25 to 50 seed ticks should be 
placed, which in the course of about 10 days will occasion a rise 
of temperature and a mild form of Texas fever. When the animal 
has entirely recovered from this attack, a second crop — double the 
number first used — should be applied to the animal in order to in- 
crease its power of resistance when pastured on infested soil. In 
order to carry out this method successfully, a constant supply of seed 
ticks must be at hand. This can be accomplished by placing the 
mature females in a Mason fruit jar among some dirt and leaves and 
keeping them in a warm place. In a few weeks the eggs will have 
been laid and hatched, and a number of seed ticks will be present for 
use in infesting the cattle to be immunized. By placing a few adult 
females in the jar every two months there will always be a supply of 
these young ticks. This method of producing immunity by controlled 
tick infestation is not so safe as blood inoculation, as the number of 
germs injected can be more accurately regulated by means of a 
syringe. 

TREATMENT. 

.When Texas fever has broken out, all animals, the sick as well as 
the healthy, should at once be removed to a noninfected pasture. 
While this may not cut short the disease, it may save the lives of 
some by removing them from the possibility of attack by more young 
ticks. Removal from infected pastures likewise prevents a second 
attack, in October or early in November, which is caused by another 
generation of ticks. It is true that sick natives infect with a new 
generation of ticks the pasture to which they are removed, but these 
usually appear so late that they have but little opportunity to do any 
damage; hence, sick natives do not, as a rule, cause visible disease 
in other natives. 

It is of importance to remove all ticks, so far as this is possible, 
from sick animals, since they abstract a considerable quantity of 
blood and thereby retard the final recovery. 



TEXAS FEVER. 503 

Medical treatment of the sick has generally been unsatisfactory, 
although in chronic cases and those occurring late in the fall bene- 
ficial results have followed. If the animal is constipated, a drench 
containing 1 pound of Epsom salts dissolved in 1 quart of water 
should be administered, followed by sulphate of quinin in doses 
of 30 to 90 grains, according to the size of the animal, four times a 
day until the system is well saturated with it. Tincture of digitalis 
one-half ounce and whisky or alcohol 2 ounces may be combined with 
the quinin, according to indications of individual cases. An iron 
tonic containing reduced iron 2 ounces, powdered gentian 4 ounces, 
powdered mix vomica 2 ounces, powdered rhubarb 2 ounces, and 
potassium nitrate 6 ounces will be found beneficial in the convales- 
cent stage when the fever has run its course. This tonic should be 
given in heaping teaspoonful doses three times a day in the feed. 
Good nursing is essential in treating these cases, and the animal 
should be given a nutritious, laxative diet with plenty of clean and 
cool drinking water and allowed to rest in a quiet place. If the 
stable or pasture is infested with ticks, the animal should be placed 
in a tick-free inclosure to prevent additional infestation with these 
parasites and the introduction of fresh infection into the blood. 
Furthermore, all ticks that can be seen should be removed from the 
sick cattle, as they keep weakening the animal by withdrawing a 
considerable quantity of blood, and thereby retard recovery. 

QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. 

The sanitary regulations issued by the Department of Agriculture 
for the control of cattle shipments from the infected districts have 
for their initial purpose the prevention of the transportation of 
ticks from infected regions to those that are not infected, either 
upon cattle or in stock cars or other conveyer. They are based upon 
the fact that Texas fever is carried north only by the cattle tick, 
and the exclusion of this parasite from the noninfected territory has 
in every instance been found a certain method of excluding Texas 
fever. The regulations governing the movement of cattle from 
below the quarantine line are made yearly by the Secretary of Agri- 
culture, and they define the boundary of infected districts. The 
infected area as now determined includes the territory south of an 
imaginary line which commences on the Atlantic coast on the Vir- 
ginia-North Carolina boundary and passes in a westerly direction 
through Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, 
Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the western part of Texas to the Rio 
Grande and the Mexican border, whence it passes along the southern 
boundary of New Mexico and Arizona and across a portion of 
San Diego, County, California, to the Pacific slope. (See PI. L.) 



SOUTHERN CATTLE FEVER (TEXAS FEVER, TICK FEVER). 

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES. 

Plate XLIV. Normal spleen and spleen affected by Texas fever. 

Fig. 1. Spleen of an acute, fatal case of Texas fever. The narrow end of 
the spleen is here represented. 

Fig. 2. Spleen of healthy steer. Though the latter animal weighed one-half 
more than the former, the weight of the diseased spleen (6J pounds) 
was nearly three times that of the healthy spleen (2§ pounds). 
Plate XLV. Texas fever. 

Fig. 1. The cut surface of a healthy liver taken from a steer slaughtered 
for beef. 

Fig. 2. The cut surface of the liver in Texas fever. 

Fig. 3. Appearance of the urine in an acute, fatal case of Texas fever. 

Fig. 4. Red corpuscles, magnified 1,000 diameters, containing the parasite of 
Texas fever. This appears as a blue point a near the edge of the 
corpuscle. The blood was taken from a skin incision. The case was 
nonfatal and occurred late in the fall. 

Fig. 5. Red corpuscles from the blood of an acute, fatal case, 20 hours be- 
fore death. The Texas fever microbes a are shown as pear-shaped 
bodies, stained with methylene blue, within the red corpuscles. The 
larger body on the right b is a white blood corpuscle, also stained with, 
methylene blue. (Magnified 1,000 diameters.) 
Plate XL VI. The cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus), the carrier of Texas 
fever. 

Fig. 1. A series of ticks, natural size, from the smallest, just hatched from 
the egg, to the mature female, ready to drop off and lay eggs. 

Fig. 2. Eggs, magnified 5 times. 

Fig. 3. The young tick just hatched (magnified 40 times). 

Fig. 4. The male after the last molt (magnified 10 times). 

Fig. 5. The female after the last molt (magnified 10 times). 

Fig. 6. A portion of the skin of the udder, showing the small ticks. From 
a fatal case of Texas fever produced by placing young ticks on the 
animal. (Natural size.) 

Fig. 7. A portion of the ear of the same animal, showing same full-grown 
ticks ready to drop off. (Natural size.) 
Plate XLVII. The cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus). 

Fig. 1. Dorsal view of male. (Greatly enlarged. Original.) 

Fig. 2. Ventral view of male. ( Greatly enlarged. Original. ) 

Fig. 3. Dorsal view of replete female. (Greatly enlarged. Original.) 

Fig. 4. Ventral view of same. 
Plate XLVIII. Portion of a steer's hide, showing the Texas fever tick (Mar- 
garopus annulatus). (Natural size. Original.) 
Plate XLIX. Fig. 1. Tick-infested steer. 

Fig. 2. Dipping cattle to kill ticks. 
Plate L. Map of the United States, showing region infected with Texas 
fever of cattle. The heavy line shows the boundary of the tick-infested 
area at the beginning of the work of tick eradication in 1906. White 
areas below the line show territory that has been freed from ticks and 
released from quarantine. Shaded areas remain tick infested and 
under quarantine (April 1, 1916). As a general rule, cattle may not be 
shipped interstate from the shaded area except for immediate slaughter. 
As the quarantined area is subject to change at any time, this map 
should be compared with the latest regulations, which may be obtained 
at any time on application to the Secretary of Agriculture. 
504 



Dise*ses of Cittle— U. S. Dept of Agr. 



Plate XLIV. 






% < 




Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept. of Ac 



Plate XLV. 




Fig. 1 




Fig. 3 



Fig. 2 



Fig. 4 







Fig. 5 



' a CO BALTIMORE, 



Texas Fever. 



Diseases of Cattle— U. S. Dept. of Agr 



Plate XLVI 



• • * » * fc # ^ |f- 



Fig. 1 




®0® 
Fig. 2 




Fig. 3 




Fig. 4 




Fig. 5 




Haines del. 



Fig. 7 




Fig. 6 



A HOENaCO BALTIMORE. 



The Cattle Tick (Margaropus annulatus), the Carrier of Texas Fever. 



Diseases of Cattle — U. S. Oept. of Agr. 



Plate XLVI 







I a CO BALTIMORE 



The Cattle Tick (Margaropus Annulatus). 
Figs, l and 2 Dorsal and ventral views of Male. 

FigS. 3 and 4 DORSAL AND VENTRAL VIEWS OF REPLETE FEMALE. 
(GREATLY ENLARGED.) 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XLVIII. 




Portion of a Steer's Hide, Showing the Texas-Fever Tick (Marqaropus annulatus) 
of the United States. Natural Size. Original. 



Diseases of Cattle. 



Plate XLIX. 




Fig. 1.— Tick-Infested Steer. 




Fig. 2.— Dipping Cattle to Kill Ticks. 



Diseases or Cattle. 



Plate L. 




— 




— 










■- 


« 




- 


U 




— 




V 




< 




<D 


s — 






<1> 


* 






V 






•^SS 


a 



TEXAS FEVER. 505 

In consequence of the enforcement of these quarantine regulations, 
Texas fever has been practically prevented in the noninfected dis- 
tricts for several years, and little or no hardship has been caused to 
stockmen handling cattle from the infected areas. Prior to the 
adoption of these regulations the tick-infested district was rapidly 
extending northward, but since the quarantine line was established 
and rational regulations enforced it has gradually been moved farther 
south. This problem of still further reducing the infested area is of 
the greatest importance to the cattlemen of the South— in fact, to 
those on both sides of the line — and one which is receiving special 
consideration by this department as well as by many of the interested 
States. 

TICK ERADICATION. 

Systematic cooperative work by the Federal Government and the 
affected States for the eradication of the cattle ticks which transmit 
Texas fever was begun in the summer of 1906 under authority given 
by Congress in the appropriation act for the Department of Agricul- 
ture. The first Federal appropriation for the fiscal year ended June 
30, 1907, was $82,500, and for the fiscal year 1908 an appropriation 
of $150,000 was made, then for several years $250,000, and this has 
been increased to $388,800 for 1916. Funds have also been provided 
by States and counties. 

The original infected area amounted to 728,543 square miles. Of 
this territory there has been released from quarantine as a result of 
the work above mentioned 284,521 square miles (up to April 1, 1916). 
In other words, 38 per cent of the area has been freed from ticks 
in a little over nine years. 

Great improvement has already resulted from this work in the 
released territory. More cattle are being raised, and a better grade 
of breeding stock is being introduced ; calves grow faster, and cattle 
put on flesh more rapidly during the grazing season and go into the 
winter in better condition because of the absence of the ticks; they 
can be marketed without quarantine restrictions, and higher prices 
are being obtained; dairy cows give a larger yield of milk; and 
values of farm lands are enhanced. 

The difference between the prices realized for cattle from the tick- 
infested region and the prices of cattle of similar grades from above 
the quarantine line ranges from $2.25 to $5 a head at the principal 
northern live-stock markets, without taking into account the im- 
provement in quality and weight of cattle because of the eradication 
of the ticks. As from 800,000 to 1,000,000 cattle from the quarantined 
area are annually sold in these markets, it can easily be seen that the 
extermination of the ticks means an annual increase of at least 
$3,000,000 in the prices obtained for southern cattle sold in northern 



506 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

markets. In addition to this, the increase in prices of cattle sold 
locally in the South would represent a large sum. This local increase 
has already been found to amount to from $3 to $15 a head in the 
territory recently freed from ticks. An agricultural official of one 
of the Southern States reports that calves in the tick- free area bring 
just double the prices that can be obtained for similar calves in the 
tick-infested region. 

Heretofore it has been impracticable to improve the quality of 
southern cattle by introducing fine breeding animals from other sec- 
tions, because such animals were liable to contract Texas fever and 
die unless protected by inoculation. Furthermore, it is impossible 
for animals to attain good growth and to thrive when they are 
heavily infested with ticks. With the eradication of the ticks, how- 
ever, the southern farmers are enabled to introduce good breeding 
animals and to improve the grade of their stock. 

There is no longer any doubt that it is entirely practicable to 
exterminate the ticks throughout the entire region, and the accom- 
plishment of this result will be of tremendous economic advantage 
not only to the South but to the whole country. The rate of progress 
depends mainly on two factors — the amounts appropriated by the 
Federal and State Governments, and the cooperation of the people. 

CHRONIC BACTERIAL DYSENTERY. 

Chronic bacterial dysentery is a chronic infectious disease of 
bovines caused by an acid-fast bacillus simulating the tubercle 
bacillus and characterized by marked diarrhea, anemia, and emacia- 
tion, terminating in death. 

Recently this disease has been observed in the United States for 
the first time by Pearson in Pennsylvania cattle, and later by Mohler 
in Virginia cattle, and in an imported heifer from the island of 
Jersey at the Athenia quarantine station of the Bureau of Animal 
Industry. 

The former has proposed the name chronic bacterial dysentery for 
this affection, and it has also been termed Johne's disease, chronic 
bacterial enteritis, chronic hypertrophic enteritis, and chronic bovine 
pseudotuberculosis enteritis by various European investigators. The 
disease w T as first studied in 1895 by Johne and Frothingham in Dres- 
den, but they were inclined to attribute to the avian tubercle bacillus 
the cause of the peculiar lesions of enteritis which they observed. In 
1904 Markus reported this disease in Holland, and subsequently it 
was observed in Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, and Great Britain. 

Cause. — The bacillus, which has been invariably demonstrated in 
the intestinal lesions and mesenteric lymph glands in this disease, is 
a rod about 2 to 3 microns long and 0.5 micron wide. It stains more 
or less irregularly, like the tubercle bacillus, and moreover the simi- 



CHRONIC BACTERIAL DYSENTERY. 507 

larity goes further, in that the organism is also strongly acid-fast, 
which facts led Johne and Frothingham to surmise that the disease 
was caused by avian tubercle bacilli. However, it has now been 
plainly demonstrated that the bacillus of chronic bacterial dysentery 
is readily distinguished from the latter organisms, for while it resem- 
bles the tubercle bacillus in form and staining qualities, no one has 
succeeded in growing it in culture media or in reproducing the dis- 
ease by injecting experiment animals. 

Symptoms. — Probably the first symptom noticed is that the animal 
is losing condition despite the fact that its appetite is good and the 
food nourishing. This is soon followed by a diarrhea which, while 
moderate at first, soon becomes excessive and may be either irregular 
or persistent, the feces being of the consistency of molasses and passed 
frequentty. In the meantime the hair becomes dry and harsh and 
the animal falls off considerably in weight. The temperature, how- 
ever, remains about normal. The appetite does not seem to be greatly 
impaired until the last few weeks of life, but nevertheless emaciation 
continues, the animal becomes more and more anemic, great mus- 
cular weakness and exhaustion are manifested, and death follows, 
apparently as the result of the persistent diarrhea and great emacia- 
tion. The disease may continue for four or five weeks or may last 
for a year, or even longer, before death intervenes. 

Lesions. — The lesions observed on post-mortem are remarkably 
slight and are out of all proportion to the severity of the symptoms 
manifested. The disease appears to start in the small intestines, es- 
pecially in the lower portion, where the lesions are usually the most 
marked, but it also involves the large intestines, including the rectum. 
The mucous membrane may alone be affected, although usually in the 
long-standing cases the submucosa is also invaded and the entire 
intestinal wall is then much thicker than normal and the tissue 
infiltrated with an inflammatory exudate. The mucous membrane 
or inside lining membrane is markedly wrinkled or corrugated, 
showing large, coarse folds with more or less reddening or hemor- 
rhagic patches or spots on the summits of the ridges, especially 
noticeable in the large intestines. The mesenteric lymph glands are 
usually somewhat enlarged and appear watery on section. The other 
organs do not appear to be affected except from the anemia present 
in the later stages of the disease. 

Differential diagnosis. — The principal disease with which bacterial 
dysentery may be confused is tuberculosis, but the application of the 
tuberculin test will readily diagnose the latter disease, while no reac- 
tion will be noted in case the injected animal is suffering with the 
former affection. The disease may also be mistaken for the parasitic 
affections resulting from stomach worms (verminous gastritis) and 
intestinal parasites, especially uncinariasis, but a microscopic exami- 



508 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

nation of the feces is necessary in order to establish definitely the 
diagnosis. 

Treatment. — As with all other forms of infectious disease, it is 
advisable to separate immediately the diseased and suspected cattle 
from the healthy animals. The feces passed by the former animals 
should be placed on cultivated soil where healthy cattle will not 
be exposed to them, as the bacilli producing the disease are readily 
found in such manure. The stalls, stables, and barnyards should 
also be thoroughly disinfected, as has been described under " Tuber- 
culosis," in this chapter, special attention being given to those places 
which have been soiled by feces. The administration of medicines 
has thus far been quite unsatisfactory, although treatment should be 
directed toward disinfecting the intestines with intestinal antisep- 
tics, such as creolin in 2 teaspoonful doses twice daily or tannopin in 
1 dram doses twice daily, and strengthening the animal by the use 
of stimulants such as strychnin in half-grain doses given twice daily 
hypodermically. Salol, turpentine, or subnitrate of bismuth in a 
starch or wheat-flour gruel may also give temporary relief, but the 
diarrhea is likely to reappear and cause the death of the animal. In 
all cases the feed must be carefully selected to assure good quality, 
and should consist preferably of nutritious dry feed. 

NAGANA. 

Nagana, also called tsetse-fly disease, is an infectious fever occur- 
ring chiefly in horses and cattle, characterized by alternating par- 
oxysims and intermissions and produced by a specific flagellate proto- 
zoan {Trypanosoma brucei) in the blood. It is probably transmitted 
from animal to animal solely by the bites of the tsetse fly. This 
insect is something like a large house fly, and when it settles on a 
diseased animal, sucks the blood and infects its proboscis, it is enabled 
on biting a second animal to infect the latter by direct inoculation. 
This disease is found throughout a large portion of central and 
southern Africa, along the low-lying and swampy valleys. It has 
never occurred in the United States, nor is it known to be present in 
the Philippines, but its relation to surra and the possibility of its 
appearance in one of our island dependencies are the reasons for 
including a few remarks at this time. 

Symptoms. — The chief symptoms in addition to the fever, which is 
usually about 104° to 105° F., are the muscular wasting, progressive 
anemia, and loss of power, together with the edema most marked 
about the head, legs, abdomen, and genital organs. The urine is 
yellow and tubid, and occasionally contains albumin and blood. 
There is paralysis of one or both of the hind legs, difficult urination 
and defecation, labored breathing, discharge from the eyes and nose, 
extreme thirst, and gradual extension of paralysis to other parts of 



NAGANA CATTLE FARCY. 509 

the body. The disease runs a chronic course, lasting from three to 
six weeks in horses, and from one to six months in cattle. Besides 
these animals, the mule, ass, buffalo, antelope, hyena, camel, and 
dog contract the disease naturally, and sheep, goats, cats, and small 
laboratory animals succumb to artificial inoculation. 

Lesions. — The spleen and lymphatic glands are enlarged. There 
are sero-fibrinous exudates in the body cavities, the liver is enlarged 
and engorged, heart flabby, and a catarrhal condition is present in 
the respiratory passages. Pathological changes occur in the spinal 
cord. The finding of the trypanosoma by microscopic examination 
of the blood will be conclusive evidence for diagnosis. 

Treatment. — Treatment has not proved satisfactory. Quinin, 
arsenic, methylene blue, and other drugs have been used, but with- 
out success. Endeavors thus far made to produce immunity from 
this disease have likewise been unavailing. 

CATTLE FARCY. 

This is a chronic disease of cattle occurring in France and the 
island of Guadeloupe, West Indies. It is characterized by caseating 
nodular swellings, first of the skin and afterwards of the superficial 
lymphatic vessels and glands, finally proving fatal within a year by 
extension to the viscera. The swellings rupture and discharge a 
purulent yellowish fluid, which contains the causative organism. 
This affection, called farcin du bceuf by the French, resembles cuta- 
neous glanders or farcy of horses, but is caused by an entirely 
different organism, the streptothrix of Nocard. Moreover, cattle are 
immune from glanders, and for this reason the name, unfortunately 
applied to this disease, should not lead to any confusion with the 
cutaneous glanders or farcy of horses. Although the disease has been 
described as occurring only in Guadeloupe and France, the pos- 
sibility of its occurrence in American possessions warrants its men- 
tion in this chapter. 

Treatment. — Treatment consists in making incisions into the swell- 
ings and syringing them out with 2 per cent compound cresol solution. 
The cavities may then be packed with cotton, soaked in 5 per cent 
zinc chlorid solution. The swollen lymphatics may also be bathed or 
covered with cloths wrung out in this solution. 

OTHER INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 

The following are also infectious diseases of cattle, a discussion of 
which will be found in previous chapters : 

Page. 

Contagious abortion 165 

White scour of calves 259 

Infectious ophthalmia (pink eye) 343 



THE ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 

By B. H. Ransom, Ph. D., 
Chief of 'Zoological Division, Bureau of Animal Industry. 

The animal parasites of cattle comprise more than a hundred 
different species, belonging to various groups of the animal king- 
dom. Fortunately not all these parasites occur in this country — 
many are uncommon, and many are comparatively harmless. Some 
forms, however, occur frequently, and some are of distinct impor- 
tance to the American stockman on account of the damage for which 
they are responsible. It is these parasites particularly which will 
be referred to in the present article, and although some forms are 
discussed which are rare or apparently of little economic importance, 
most of the minor and unusual parasites and species not found in 
this country have been omitted from consideration. 

FLIES. 1 

Of the various species of flies which infest cattle some are inju- 
rious on account of the annoyance, pain, and loss of blood due to 
their bites, and sometimes also on account of diseases or parasites 
which are thus transmitted from the blood of diseased animals to 
that of healthy cattle, while others, which in the winged adult state 
do not bite, are injurious because they live parasitic on cattle during 
their larval stages. 

Remedies for flies? — Most remedies used for protecting cattle 
from the attacks of flies have to be applied frequently, and few, if 
any, will keep flies away for more than a day or two following their 
application. The numerous proprietary fly repellents to be found 
on the market are usually more expensive, and often less efficacious 
than homemade mixtures. 

At the Minnesota experiment station rancid lard 1 pound and 
kerosene one-half pint, mixed thoroughly until a creamy mass forms, 
was found to give excellent results as a fly repellent, lasting for two 
or three days, when rubbed not too thickly with a cloth or with the 
bare hand over the backs of cows. Mixtures of cottonseed oil and 

1 Further information may be found in a very full report on " Insects Affecting 
Domestic Animals," issued as Bulletin 5, new series, of the Bureau of Entomology of this 
department. 

2 Further information on fly repellents may be found in Bulletin 131 of the Department 
of Agriculture. 

510 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 511 

pine tar containing from 10 to 50 per cent of the latter substance 
were found b.y investigations in the Bureau of Animal Industry to 
have a marked repellent action against flies when applied lightly 
every day. A too free application of tar mixtures and other prepara- 
tions containing phenols is liable to cause poisoning; hence care 
should be observed in this regard. 

Jensen (1909) recommends the following formula, which is said 
to protect cows for a week: 

Common laundry soap 1 pound. 

Water 4 gallons. 

Crude petroleum 1 gallon. 

Powdered naphthalin 4 ounces. 

Cut the soap into thin shavings and dissolve in water by the aid of 
heat ; dissolve the naphthalin in the crude oil, mix the two solutions, 
put them into an old dasher churn, and mix thoroughly for 15 
minutes. The mixture should be applied once or twice a week with 
a brush. It must be stirred well before being used. 

THE STABLE FLY (STOMOXYS CALCITRANS). 1 

This fly very closety resembles the house fly, but, unlike the latter, 
it is a biting fly. It is common about stables and often enters 
dwellings, especially in cloudy weather. According to Noe, it is the 
agent of transmission of a parasitic roundworm of cattle {Setaria 
labiato-papillosa, see p. 534). This fly has been shown capable 
of transmitting anthrax from diseased to healthy animals, and under 
some conditions it may transmit surra, a disease caused by a blood 
parasite which affects horses, cattle, and other live stock. 

The annoyance suffered by cattle and horses from stable flies is 
much lessened if the stables are darkened. 

The screening of doors and windows, however, is preferable, as 
ventilation is not interfered with as it is in darkening stables. For 
milch cows coverings made from burlap (double thickness), includ- 
ing trouserlike coverings for the legs, may be used when the flies are 
very numerous and troublesome. One of the fly repellents men- 
tioned above may be applied to cattle to protect them from stable 
flies. The Hodge flytrap fitted to the windows of dairy barns is a 
useful means of destroying stable flies. 

The stable fly breeds in moist accumulations of straw, chaff, cow 
or horse manure, and various fermenting vegetable substances. The 
debris collecting in and under outdoor feed troughs, and the remains 
of straw stacks are favorable breeding places for the stable fly. 
Under the most favorable conditions about three weeks are required 
for development from the egg to the adult stage. 

1 For further information consult Farmers' Bulletin 540. 



512 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



THE HORNFLY (LYPEROSIA IRRITANS). 1 

This fly, now found nearly everywhere in the United States, wag 
introduced into this country from Europe about the year 1885. 
Hornflies have the habit of clustering about the base of the horn 
(fig. 7) , whence the name by which they are popularly known. They 
do not damage the horn, and congregate there only to rest. 

In view of the general practice of dehorning cattle, the name horn- 
fly is less distinctive than it once was. Moreover, hornflies rest on 
other parts of the body as well as the horns. 

When resting, their wings are held down close to the body (fig. 6) ; 
when feeding, their wings are held out nearly at right angles, ready 
for flight. They puncture the skin and suck blood, usually attacking 

the upper parts of the body, 
particularly those which 
are out of reach of the ani- 
mal's head or tail. Unlike 
most flies, they remain on 
the animal more or less con- 
stantly, day and night. Ow- 
ing probably to the irrita- 
tion and annoyance caused 
by these flies, cattle often 
do not thrive as they should 
during seasons when the 
flies are numerous. The 
hornfly has also been 
charged with transmitting 
diseases, such as anthrax. 
The fly lays its eggs in 
freshly dropped cow ma- 
nure. They hatch in about 
21 hours, and the larvae or 
maggots in four or five days develop to the pupal stage, which lasts 
a week or 10 days. From the pupal stage the mature fly emerges. 
The entire process of development from the deposition of the egg to 
the appearance of the mature fly therefore may be completed in two 
weeks, or even in a shorter time. To protect cattle from attacks 
of the hornfly they may be treated with one of the remedies men- 
tioned above (p. 510). Dipping cattle in a vat provided with splash- 
boards set at the proper angle destroys most of the hornflies present 
on the animals. Unless the splashboards are used all but a few of the 
flies succeed in escaping as the cattle plunge into the bath and later 



^^ 




Fie. 6- 
tion. 



-Hornfly (Li/perosia irritans) in resting posi- 
Enlarged. (From Bureau of Entomology.) 



1 For further information consult Circular 1 15 of the Bureau of Entomology. 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 



513 



return to them. Scattering the droppings of cattle with a shovel, or 
with brush dragged over pastures, in order to insure the rapid drying 




Fig. 7. — Hornflies (Lyperosia irritans) on cow horn. (From Bureau of Entomology.) 

of the manure and consequent destruction of the larvae, is, when 
practicable, an efficient means of reducing the number of these flies. 

BUFFALO GNATS. 

These small flies, also known as black flies, are about one-eighth of 
an inch long and have a characteristic "humped" back (fig. 8). 
They breed in running water and 
appear in swarms during spring and 
summer, often in enormous numbers, 
causing great annoyance to stock and 
human beings, on account of their 
bites and their entrance into the ej^es, 
nose, mouth, and other openings of 
the body. Their bites appear to be 
poisonous and in seasons especially 
favorable to the gnats heavy losses of 
horses and cattle often occur. 

Buffalo gnats are more trouble- 
some in bright, sunny weather than 
when it is cloudy, and animals which 
have not shed their winter coats suf- 
fer more from their attacks than 
those with smooth coats. Cattle kept 
in darkened stables are not molested. 
The application of one of the fly re- 
pellents already mentioned (p. 510) 
will help to protect animals from buffalo gnats. The burning of 
smudges is also a useful means of protecting stock from the attacks of 
these flies. 

33071°— 16 33 




Fig. 8.-— Buffalo gnat. Enlarged. (From 
Bureau of Entomology.) 



514 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 




Fig. 9. — Screw worm (larva of Chry- 
somyia macellaria) . Enlarged. 
(From Bureau of Entomology.) 



SCREW WORMS. 

Screw worms (fig. 9) are the maggots of a fly (Chrysomyia macel- 
laria) , so called from their fancied resemblance to a screw. The adult 
fly (fig. 10) is about one-third of an inch long, with a bluish-green 
body, red eyes, and with three dark longitudinal stripes on the 
back (thorax). Attracted by odors of decay it deposits its eggs, 

300 to 400 at a time, in cuts, sores, 
castration wounds, etc. The crush- 
ing of a tick on the skin commonly 
results in screw-worm infection at 
that point. The eggs hatch in a 
few hours and the larvae or mag- 
gots, or so-called screw worms, be- 
gin to burrow into the flesh and continue burrowing and feeding 
from three to six days, after which they leave the wound and crawl 
into the earth, there transforming into the quiescent pupal stage. 
After this stage has lasted for one to two weeks, the mature fly 
appears. From two to three weeks are therefore required for the 
entire life cycle, although under certain conditions it is possible 
for the fly to undergo its full de- 
velopment in as short a time as 
nine days. 

Besides cattle, the screw-worm 
fly attacks sheep, horses, dogs, and 
man. In the case of hogs it is gen- 
erally the ears which are affected. 
The fly also breeds in dead ani- 
mals, and all carcasses should 
therefore be buried deeply or 
burned. 

Treatment for screw worms. — 
For proper treatment an animal 
suffering from screw worms should 
be caught and thrown. Chloro- 
form should be poured into the 
wound, taking care that it pene- 
trates thoroughly into all the burrows of the screw worm, if necessary 
using a slender stick or a small bunch of twisted hay as a probe. The 
animal should be held for several minutes in order to insure the con- 
tinued action of the chloroform. Instead of chloroform, gasoline may 
be used. Finally the wound should be dressed with a carbolic or 
cresylic ointment to promote healing and thus prevent further infec- 
tion, or the wound may be painted with pine tar. Dipping in the 
arsenical dips used for destroying cattle ticks is a convenient method 
of treatment if many animals are involved. 




Fig. 10. — Screw-worm fly (Chrysomyia 
macellaria). Enlarged. (From Bureau 
of Entomology.) 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 
GRUBS, WARBLES, BOTS. 



515 



The common parasites known as grubs, warbles, bots, etc. (fig 11), 
found under the skin of the backs of cattle, where they form more or 
less conspicuous lumps during the latter part of winter and spring, 
are the larvae of a fly known as the heel fly or warble fly. This fly 
(Hypoderma Uneattim) is about one-half inch long, very hairy, and 
somewhat resembles a small black bee. The flies appear early in the 




Fig. 11. — The warble fly (Hypoderma Unealttm) : a, adult female; b, eggs attached to a 
hair, X 25 ; c, larva as seen in egg ; d, larva from esophagus of an ox ; e, next stage of 
larva from beneath the skin of the back : /, larva at the stage when it leaves the back 
of cattle and falls to the ground — all enlarged (after Riley). 

summer and are more or less prevalent until the beginning of cold 
weather. The}' deposit their eggs on the skin of cattle, fastening 
them to the hairs. The eggs are often deposited on the heels above 
the hoofs, hence the name " heel fly." 

Although the flies are unable to bite, cattle seem to be much afraid 
of them, and often at their approach make violent efforts to escape, 
sometimes falling over precipices or becoming mired in water holes 
in the course of their headlong flight. 



516 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

As a result of recent studies by various investigators it appears 
that the tiny grubs, newly hatched from the eggs, may gain entrance 
to the body by penetrating directly through the skin. Many ob- 
servers, however, have held that the eggs or newly-hatched larvae 
are taken into the mouth by the cattle licking themselves. It is 
possible, as in the case of several other parasites,, that both' modes of 
infection may occur and that the larvae may gain entrance to the 
body either by penetrating the skin or by being swallowed. From 
the evidence at present available it seems likely that the usual mode 
of entrance is through the skin. Irrespective of the mode of infec- 
tion, the larvae evidently wander extensively through the tissues of 
the body, developmental stages being found in considerable numbers 
in the wall of the esophagus during the fall of the year. They have 
also been found in the spinal canal and in various other locations. 
Finally, about January they appear beneath the skin of the back, 
forming the well-known swellings. The posterior end of the grub is 
near the small opening in the hide, through which the grub breathes 
and discharges its excrement, and through which, when its develop- 
ment is complete, it finally escapes. The anterior end of the grub is 
at the bottom of the tumor, where the mucus collects upon which it 
feeds. By spring or early summer the grub is full grown and forces 
its way out of the skin, falling to the ground, into which it burrows 
for a short distance and transforms into the pupal stage. In about a 
month the mature fly emerges. 

It has lately been discovered that a second species of warble fly 
(Hypoderma bovis) common in Europe is of not uncommon occur- 
rence in Canada and the northern part of the United States, whereas 
it was formerly supposed that the ox warbles of this country were 
all of the one kind. The general appearance, life history, and effects 
of the European species are much the same as those of the American 
form. 

Grubs weaken cattle, cause them to fall off in flesh and milk, and 
decrease the value of the hide. The beef in the immediate vicinity 
of a grub becomes slimy and of a greenish color, and is known to the 
butchers as " licked beef." 

The total loss to this country on account of the warble fly is esti- 
mated at $35,000,000 to $50,000,000 a year, at the least, and may 
amount to considerably more. 

Treatment for warbles. — During the winter and spring examine 
the cattle for the presence of warbles. By passing the hand over the 
backs of the animals the swellings marking the location of the grubs 
may be readily found. Pressure properly applied to the swellings 
will cause the grubs to " pop out " if they have reached a late stage 
of development. They may be more easily removed by means of 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 517 

slender forceps inserted into the opening of the warbles, and a still 
more certain method of removing them, particularly if the lumps are 
still very small, is to cut into the swellings with a sharp knife or 
bistoury, after which they may be pressed out. Care should be taken 
to crush all grubs removed, so as to prevent the possibility of their 
further development and transformation into flies. In order that 
none may escape it is advisable to examine the cattle every two 
weeks during the late winter and spring, at each examination remov- 
ing the grubs which have developed sufficiently to cause perceptible 
swellings. 

Another method of treatment is to force grease or oil into the open- 
ings of the warbles, which kills the grubs. This method is less cer- 
tain than that of removing the grubs, and has the further objection 
that the dead grubs remain beneath the skin. 

Cattle may be treated during the summer with fly repellents (p. 
510) to keep off warble flies. The efficacy of repellents against these 
flies is probably, however, not very great. 

In localities where the character of the cattle industry is such as 
to render practicable the systematic examination of cattle and the 
removal of the grubs — that is, where the herds are comparatively 
small and subject to the close supervision of the owners — it is pos- 
sible, by the exercise of a little care and with very little effort on the 
part of the cattle owners, provided they work together, each doing 
his share by seeing to the removal of grubs from his own cattle, so 
that as few as possible survive to transform into flies, to reduce the 
number of grubs within one or two seasons almost, if not entirely, to 
the point of extinction. 

Investigations not yet completed indicate that grub eradication 
may be accomplished by the use of arsenical dips, which are exten- 
sively used at the present time for destroying cattle ticks. (See 
page 473.) It is not unlikely that the destructive action of arsenical 
dips upon warbles is more or less dependent upon the fact that 
arsenic is stored up in small quantities in and upon the skin of cattle 
that are repeatedly dipped in arsenical dips. The arsenical dip ap- 
pears to act, not upon the well-developed grub beneath the skin, but 
upon the eggs or the newly -hatched larva?, probably the latter. Ac- 
cordingly the dipping of cattle to destroy grubs should be carried 
out during the fly season and repeated treatments should be given 
every two or three weeks, as in dipping cattle to eradicate ticks. 

LICE. 1 

Cattle are affected by three species of lice, two of them sucking 
lice (Hcematopinus eurysternus, the short-nosed cattle louse, and 
Linognathm vituli, the long-nosed cattle louse), commonly known 

1 For further information see Bulletin 5, new series, Bureau of Entomology. 



518 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 




as blue lice, and one biting louse (Trichodectes scalenus), commonly 
known as the red louse. 

The blue lice (figs. 12 and 13) suck the blood of cattle and are more 
injurious than the red lice (fig. 14). Unless very abundant the latter 
cause little injury. If numerous they irritate 
and worry their host probably more by their 
sharp claws than by their bites, as their food 
seems to consist entirely of particles of hair and 
dead skin. 

Cattle lice reproduce by means of eggs or nits 
(fig. 15) which they fasten to the hair. The blue 
lice infest chiefly the neck and shoulders ; red lice, 
when present, may be found almost anywhere on 
the body, but are usually most numerous on neck, 
shoulders, and at the root of the tail. 

On account of the itching caused by the lice, 
infested cattle rub against posts, trees, etc., and 
lick themselves, the hair sometimes coming out 
and the skin becoming thickened so that mange 
may be suspected. 

Treatment for lice. — Cattle infested with lice 
should be dipped in the spring and again in the fall, using a cresol or 
nicotin dip (see p. 521), or. Beaumont oil emulsion (see p. 522). The 
arsenical dip (see p. 473) is also another remedy which may be effect- 
ively used against lice. When possible a 
second dipping should be given after the 
lapse of 10 to 14 days, and in some cases 
several treatments may be necessary before 
the lice are brought under control. The 
dips mentioned are, as a rule, more effica- 
cious against lice than lime-sulphur dip. 
Though lime-sulphur is an excellent mange 
remedy, it is less satisfactory for lice, espe- 
3ially blue lice. If only a few cattle are to 
be treated the dip may be applied with a 

brush or cloth, or with a small spray pump, fig. 13.— Long - nosed blue 
or a mixture of kerosene one-half pint and louse (Lmognaihm vituii,) 

* of cattle. Enlarged. (From 

lard 1 pound may be smeared on the bodv. Bureau of Entomology.) 



Fig. 12. — Short-nosed 
blue louse (Hwma- 
topinus eurysternus) 
of cattle. Enlarged. 
(From Bureau of 
Entomology.) 




MANGE, ITCH, SCAB. 1 

Cattle are subject to four kinds of mange, of which common mange 
or psoroptic mange is the most important. 

1 For a fuller discussion see Farmers' Bulletin 152, issued by the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture. 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 



519 



PSOROPTIC MANGE. 




^hfflr 



Psoroptic mange of cattle is caused by small mites (fig. 16) which 
multiply rapidly and are spread from diseased to healthy cattle 
by bodily contact, or by pens, stables, railroad cars, etc., recently 
occupied by mangy cattle. The mites attack 
the skin and cause it to become thickened and 
covered with crusts and scabs, with a conse- 
quent loss of hair. Intense itching accom- 
panies the disease, and affected cattle are 
more or less constantly rubbing and licking 
themselves. Psoroptic mange commences at 
the root of the tail, or on the neck, or withers, 
and gradually extends over the back up to 
the head, over the sides, and may finally af- 
fect nearly the entire body except the legs. 
In serious cases the skin may become ulcer- 
ated; the animals are greatly weakened and 
emaciated, and finally die. By taking scrap- 
ings from the edges of scabby patches and 
placing them on a piece of black paper in a 
warm place the mites may be seen as tiny 
white objects crawling over the paper, more 
distinctly if a magnifying glass is used. 
Mange may be confused with lousiness, ring- 
worm, or with any condition in which there 

is itching or loss of hair, but if mites are found there is no question 
of the diagnosis. The disease is worse during cold, wet weather. 
Mangy cattle, when on good pasture during the summer often seem 

to recover, but in the fall the disease again 
appears in a severe form. 

Treatment. — The most generally used and 
most satisfactory method of treating cattle 
mange consists in dipping the animals in a 
vat filled with a liquid of such nature that 
it will kill the parasites without injuring 
the cattle. Vats for dipping cattle are built 
of wood, stone, or concrete, and vary in 
length from 30 to 100 feet or more. They 
vary in width from 3 to 7 feet at the top, 
and 1^ to 3 feet at the bottom, and the depth 
may be from 7 to 10 feet. A narrow chute 
through which the cattle are driven leads 
to one end of the vat, where a steep slide pitches the cattle into the 
dipping fluid, through which they swim, and climb out of the vat at 
the other end, which is built sloping and provided with cross cleats to 



Fig. 14. — Red louse (Tricho- 
dectes scalaris > of cattle. 
Enlarged. (From Bureau 
of Entomology.) 




Fig. 15. — Egg of short- 
nosed blue louse {Hcema- 
topinus curi/stermis) at- 
tached to a hair. Enlarged. 
(From Bureau of Ento- 
mology.) 



520 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



give the animals a foothold. A draining pen with floor sloping back 
toward the vat is generally provided. The dip should be used warm, 
100° to 105° F., and the cattle should be held in the vat for two 
minutes to insure thorough action of the dip. The head of each 
animal should be ducked at least once. Care should be taken that 
the vat contains a sufficient depth of fluid to swim the animals to 

be dipped. The dip- 
ping fluid may be 
heated from a steam 
boiler by pipes or 
hose, or water heated 
in large iron caul- 
drons or tanks may 
be used for charging 
the vat, and hot 
water with a proper 
quantity of dip 
added from time to 
time as the dipping 
fluid becomes cool. 
The vat for use in 
tick eradication (de- 
scribed in Bureau of 
Animal Industry 
Circular 207) if sup- 
plied with heating 
facilities may be used 
in treating cattle for 
mange, but should 
be of greater length 
if many cattle are to 
be treated. 

If Beaumont oil 
emulsion is used, one 
treatment will be sufficient and the dip may be used cold. Beaumont 
oil and similar crude petroleums, however, are difficult to obtain and 
are rarely used. With other dips two treatments are required, the 
second treatment being given 10 days after the first. The second 
treatment is necessary to kill the few parasites which sometimes escape 
at the first treatment, either in the egg stage or as fecundated females. 




Fig. 16. — Mite which causes psoroptic scab of sheep — 
enlarged about 100 times. The mite of psoroptic cattle 
mange is almost identical in appearance. 



LIME-SULPHUR DIP. 



The lime-sulphur dip is made in the proportion of 12 pounds of 
unslaked lime (or 16 pounds of commercial hydrated lime — not air- 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 521 

slaked lime), 24 pounds of flowers of sulphur, and 100 gallons of 
water. 

Directions for preparing 100 gallons of dip. — Weigh out the lime, 
12 pounds (or hydrated lime, 16 pounds), and sulphur, 24 pounds. 
Place the unslaked lime in a shallow, water-tight box similar to a 
mortar box, or some other suitable vessel, and add water enough to 
slake the lime and form a lime paste or lime putty. Sift into this 
paste the flowers of sulphur and stir well ; then place the lime-sulphur 
paste in a kettle, boiler, or tank containing 30 gallons of water, the 
water being first heated nearly to the boiling point. Boil the mixture 
for two hours at least, stirring frequently; add water occasionally 
to maintain the original quantity. Allow the mixture to settle in the 
tank or draw the entire contents of the kettle or boiling tank into a 
large tub or barrel placed near the dipping vat and provided with a 
bunghole about 4 inches from the bottom, and then allow ample time 
to settle — from two to three hours or more if necessary. When fully 
settled, draw off the clear liquid into the dipping vat, taking care 
not to allow any of the sediment to accompany it, as the sediment is 
liable to render the dip unnecessarily caustic. The clear liquid thus 
obtained only requires the addition of. sufficient clear warm water to 
bring the total up to 100 gallons. Flowers of sulphur must be used, 
and the lime must be of good quality. 

The dipping bath should be used at a temperature of 100° to 105° 
F., and for official dippings must be maintained at all times at a 
strength of not less than 2 per cent of " sulphid sulphur " as indi- 
cated by the Bureau of Animal Industry field test for lime-sulphur 
baths. 

NTCOTIN DIP. 

The nicotin dip is made with sufficient extract of tobacco, or 
nicotin solution, to give a mixture containing not less than five 
one-hundredths of 1 per cent nicotin and 2 per cent flowers of sul- 
phur. Sufficient nicotin would therefore be furnished for 96 gallons 
(about 800 pounds) of dip by 1 pound of a 40 per cent solution of 
nicotin. The formula for this dip would be : Nicotin, four-tenths of 
a pound ; flowers of sulphur. 16 pounds ; water, 96 gallons. 

To calculate how much nicotin solution or extract of tobacco 
should be used for 96 gallons of water, divide the quantity of nicotin 
required in the dip by the proportion of nicotin in the extract. For 
example, suppose the nicotin solution contains 25 per cent nicotin, 
we have 0.40-M).25 = 1.6. Therefore in this case it would require 1.6 
pounds of nicotin solution for the 96 gallons of dip. Or, if a tobacco 
extract is used, having for example 2.4 per cent of nicotin, the for- 
mula would be as follows: 0.40^-0.024=16.66, and therefore 16.66 
pounds would be required for 96 gallons of dip. Do not use any 



522 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

preparation the strength of which is not given on the outside of the 
package. 

In preparing these dips the nicotin solution and sulphur should 
be mixed together with water before adding them to the water in the 
dipping vat. On no account should the dip be heated above 110° F. 
after the nicotin solution is added, as heat is liable to evaporate the 
nicotin and weaken the dip. 

For official dippings the dipping bath should be used at a tem- 
perature of 100° to 105° F. and at all times must be maintained at 
a strength of not less than five one-hundredths of 1 per cent nicotin 
as indicated by a field test approved by the Bureau of Animal In- 
dustry. 

A homemade nicotin dip may be prepared as follows : 

For each 100 gallons of dip desired, take 21 pounds of good, pre- 
pared tobacco leaves; soak the leaves in cold or lukewarm water 
for 24 hours in a covered pot or kettle; then bring the water to near 
the boiling point for a moment, and, if in the morning, allow the 
infusion to draw for an hour; if in the evening, allow it to draw 
overnight; the liquid is next strained (pressure being used to extract 
as much nicotin as possible from the wet leaves) and diluted to 100 
gallons per 21 pounds of tobacco. This dip should be used as fresh 
as possible, as it contains a large amount of organic material which 
will soon decompose. 

BEAUMONT OIL EMULSION. 

Di7 % ections for making 100 gallons. — Dissolve with the aid of heat 
5 pounds of hard soap (ordinary laundry soaps are satisfactory) in 
5 gallons of soft water ; to this solution add 20 gallons of Beaumont 
crude petroleum or a similar oil, mixing with a spray pump, or 
otherwise, in a thorough manner. When properly prepared the con- 
centrated emulsion will stand indefinitely without any tendency 
toward a separation of the oil and water, and can be diluted in any 
proportion with cold soft water. To make a 20 per cent emulsion 
add to the concentrated emulsion sufficient soft water to bring the 
total up to 100 gallons, keeping the whole mass thoroughly agitated. 

Oil emulsions are no longer permitted for official dippings of 
cattle. In view of the difficulty in obtaining suitable oils, and the 
occasionally severe effects upon cattle, particularly in very cold or 
very warm weather, their use is not advisable except under excep- 
tional circumstances. 

CHORIOPTIC MANGE. 

Choiioptic mange, due to a species of mite different from that caus- 
ing common cattle mange, is confined almost entirely to the region at 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 523 

the root of the tail and if not treated may persist for years. The 
treatment is the same as for psoroptic mange. 

SARCOPTIC MANGE. 

Sarcoptic mange is caused by a mite very similar to that which 
causes itch in human beings. It commonly affects the head and neck, 
but may also occur on various other parts of the body. Bulls are 
particularly liable to be affected with this form of mange. Cattle 
may become infected not only from other cattle, but also from horses, 
goats, dogs, sheep, and hogs. 

The treatment is the same as for psoroptic mange. 

DEMODECTIC MANGE. 

Demodectic mange, which is caused by a small parasite that lives 
in the hair follicles, causing pustules, especially on the neck and 
shoulders, occurs occasionally among cattle in this country and is of 
importance on account of the injury to the hide. When tanned, hides 
infested by this parasite are pitted, the pits, in some cases, being 
so deep that they form holes. No practicable treatment is known 
for this disease. 

TICKS. 1 

About 10 species of ticks have been reported as parasites of cattle 
in the United States. The most common and most important is 
the species known as Margaropus annulatus, which transmits Texas 
fever. Information concerning this tick and Texas fever has been 
given elsewhere in this volume (p. 473). 

The spinose ear tick (Otobius megnini or Omithodoros megnini) 
is frequently found in the ears of cattle in the western part of the 
United States, and is of common occurrence also in the ears of horses, 
dogs, cats, etc. 

When its parasitic stage of development is completed the ear tick 
leaves its host. Mating between the sexes occurs after the ticks have 
cast their skins following the abandonment of their host. They 
usually crawl up some distance from the ground and secrete them- 
selves in cracks and crevices in trees, walls of buildings, etc., where 
the females deposit their eggs. 

After the eggs hatch, the larval ticks, which emerge from them, 
when they succeed in finding a host, enter the ears and gradually 
develop to the stage at which they are ready to leave the host animal. 
The females may live several months, or even years, if they do not 
find mates. After mating they may deposit their eggs intermit- 

1 For a more complete discussion consult Farmers' Bulletins 560 and 498, Bulletins 
130 and 152 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, and Bulletins 15, technical series. 72 
and 106 of the Bureau of Entomology, all issued by the United States Department of 
Agriculture. 



524 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

tently. Hatching of the eggs may occur as early as 10 days after 
deposition. The larvae may live for 80 days without a host. The 
parasitic period has been observed to vary from about two to about 
seven months. 

Treatment. — On account of their protected location, ear ticks are 
not likely to be affected by dipping or spraying. Ear ticks are very 
difficult to kill, and remedies efficacious against them are liable to 
injure the cattle. The parasites may sometimes be expelled by pour- 
ing into the ear noninjurious substances, such as cottonseed oil, lin- 
seed oil, 20 per cent emulsion of crude petroleum, or almost any 
stock dip diluted as for use in dipping, but usually the results of 
treatment are unsatisfactory. Some stock owners report favorable 
results from arsenical dip (p. 496) poured into the ears. 

BLOODSUCKERS OR LEECHES. 

These worms are sometimes taken up by cattle when drinking from 
ponds. They may attach themselves to the inner surface of the 
mouth or nose, and sometimes reach the upper part of the windpipe 
or of the gullet. Bleeding at the mouth or nose may be noticed, the 
membranes where the leech is attached are liable to be swollen and 
congested, and as a result of the loss of blood a condition of anemia 
may result. 

Treatment. — If the worm can be reached it may be destroyed by 
cutting it in two with a pair of scissors, or it may be removed with 
forceps or with the fingers after wrapping a towel around the hand 
so that the worm can be held without slipping. Fumigation with 
tobacco or tar may cause the worm to release its hold if it can not be 
removed by other means. Ponds may be rid of infestation with 
bloodsuckers by the introduction of eels. 

PARASITES OF THE STOMACH. 

The stomach of cattle consists of four compartments, of which the 
first and fourth are most likely to be the seat of parasitic infestation. 
The first stomach, or paunch, contains large numbers of minute para- 
sites known as protozoa, which are too small to be seen with the 
naked eye. These small organisms aparently are in no way injuri- 
ous. A species of fluke (Paramphistomum eervi or a closely related 
species) is occasionally found in North American cattle, especially 
grass-fed cattle, attached to the inner surface of the first stomach 
(fig. 17). This worm is about one-half inch long, and somew'hat 
conical in shape ; hence the name, conical fluke, by which it is some- 
times known. Although this parasite has been accused of producing 
serious effects, it is generally considered harmless. 



ANIMAL PAEASITES OF CATTLE. 



525 




Fig. 17. — -Portion of the wall 
of the first stomach with 
conical flukes attached. 



Several species of roundworms may occur in the fourth stomach. 
Two of these are of special importance. 

THE TWISTED STOMACH WORM (HiEMONCHUS CONTORTUS). 

The twisted stomach worm {Hcemonchus contortus, figs. 18, 19, 
20) is sometimes found in enormous numbers in the fourth stomach 
of cattle. Sheep, goats, and other ruminants may also be infested 
with it. Among the symptoms caused by 
this parasite may be mentioned anemia, loss 
of flesh, general weakness, dullness, capri- 
cious appetite, excessive thirst, and diar- 
rhea. The anemic condition is seen in the 
paleness of the skin and mucous membranes 
of the mouth and eye, and in the watery 
swellings which often develop under the 
lower jaw .("poverty jaw"). If the fourth 
stomach of a dead animal is cut open and 
the contents carefully examined, the para- 
sites, which are from ^ inch to 1^ inches in 
length and about as thick as an ordinary pin, may be seen, if present 
in any considerable number, actively wriggling about like little 
snakes. 

Cattle become infected with these parasites by grazing on pastures 
on which infested cattle, sheep, or goats have grazed and scattered 
their droppings. The worms in the stomach produce a multitude of 
eggs (fig. 19<?) of microscopic size, which pass out of the body in 
the feces. In warm weather these eggs hatch in a few hours. If 
the temperature is below 40° F., they remain 
dormant, and if below freezing, they soon die. 
The eggs are also killed by dryness; moisture, 
on the other hand, favoring their development. 
The larvae which hatch from the eggs are mi- 
croscopic in size, and, like the eggs, are, at first 
and until they have developed to a certain 
stage, very susceptible to freezing and drying. 
In very warm weather the larvae complete their 
development, so far as they are able to develop outside the body, in 
two or three days. In cooler weather the time required for this devel- 
opment is longer, and at temperatures below 70° F. 10 days to several 
weeks may be necessary. The larvae are then ready to be taken into 
the body. The eggs and early stages of the larvae apparently do not 
develop if swallowed, and only the completed larval stage seems to 
be infectious. In this stage the larvae migrate up grass stalks (fig. 
20) or other objects, showing activity whenever the air is saturated 



Fig. 18. — Twisted stom- 
ach worm (Hwmonchus 
contortus). Outlines 
showing natural size 
of male (above) and 
female. 



526 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



with moisture; that is, during rains, fogs, and dews. When the air 
becomes dry and the moisture evaporates from the grass the young 
worms cease their activity, resuming their migrations when the air 

again becomes overladen with 
moisture. Larva? which have 
developed to the infectious 
stage, unlike the eggs and 
early larval stages, are able 
to survive long periods of 
freezing and dryness. In two 
weeks to a month after the 
embryos are swallowed they 
reach maturity and begin 
producing eggs. 

Preventive treatment. — ■ 
Preventive measures are im- 
portant. As moisture favors 
the development of the em- 
bryos, high sloping ground is 
preferable for pastures. If 
low ground is used, it should 
be properly drained. The 
pasture should not be over- 
stocked. Burning over the 
pasture will destroy most of 
the young worms on the grass 
and on the ground, and this 
means of disinfection under 
certain circumstances may be 
very advantageously used. 
The herd should be changed 
to fresh pasture as often as 
possible. Cattle should be 
supplied with water from 
wells, springs, or flowing- 
streams, preferably in tanks 
or troughs raised above the 
ground. To a slight degree 
salt serves to protect cattle 
against infection with internal parasites, and plenty of it should 
therefore be kept accessible. 

Affected animals should be isolated from the rest of the herd in 
hospital pens or pastures. A plentiful supply of nourishing feed is 
an important factor in enabling cattle to withstand the attacks of 
stomach worms and other intestinal parasites. The stabling of cattle, 



a 



Fig. 19. — Twisted stomach worms (Hwmonchus 
contortus). Male (a), female (b), and egg (c). 
Enlarged. 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 



527 



with the maintenance of clean and sanitary surroundings and lib- 
eral feeding, will often stop losses from internal parasites, even 
though no medicinal treatment is given. 

Medicinal treatment. — In dosing animals 
for stomach worms it is advisable to treat 
not only the animals which are seriously 
affected, but the rest of the herd as well, 
since the parasites with which they are in- 
fested will remain as a source of reinfection 
to the others. The cattle should be removed 
to fresh pasture after treatment, if possible. 
The animals to be treated should be de- 
prived of feed for 12 to 16, or even 24, hours 
before they are dosed, and if the Milestone 
treatment is used should receive no water on 
the day they are dosed until several hours 
after dosing. In drenching, a long-necked 
bottle or a drenching tube may be used. In 
case the former is used the dose to be given 
may be first measured off, poured into the 
bottle, and the point marked on the outside 
with a file, so that subsequent doses may be 
measured in the bottle itself. A simple form 
of drenching tube (fig. 21) consists of a piece 
of rubber tubing about 3 feet long and one- 
half inch in diameter, with an ordinary tin 
funnel inserted in one 
end and a piece of 

brass or iron tubing 4 to 6 inches long, of suit- 
able diameter, inserted in the other end. In 
use the metal tube is placed in the animal's 
mouth between the back teeth, and the dose -is 
poured into the funnel, which is either held by 
an assistant or fastened to a post. The flow 
of liquid through the tube is controlled by 
pinching the rubber tubing near the point of 
union with the metal tube. It is important 
not to raise the animal's head too high on ac- 




0.1 rata 

Fig. 20. — Larva of twisted 
stomach worm (Hwmon- 
clnis contortus) coiled on 
tip of grass blade. En- 
larged. 



Fig. 21. — A drenching tube made from an ordinary tin funnel, a piece of rubber 
hose, and a piece of brass pipe. 

count of the danger of the dose entering the lungs. The nose should 
not be raised higher than the level of the eyes. The animal may be 
dosed either standing on all fours or lying on the side. 



528 . DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

The position on all fours is preferred by some authorities, who be- 
lieve that more of the remedy is likely to reach the fourth stomach 
when the animal is dosed standing than when dosed in other posi- 
tions. 

Great care should be used in dosing to prevent the entrance of the 
liquid into the lungs, and in the preparation and administration of the 
remedy to avoid getting the solution too strong or the dose too large. 

Bluestone, or copper sulphate, has been extensively used in South 
Africa in the treatment of sheep and cattle for stomach worms and 
is recommended by the colonial veterinary surgeon of the Cape Col- 
ony as the best and safest remedy. To prepare the solution take 1 
pound (avoirdupois) of pure bluestone, powder it fine and dissolve 
in 9^ gallons of warm water. It is better first to dissolve the blue- 
stone in 2 or 3 quarts of boiling water, then add the remaining quan- 
tity of cold water, and mix thoroughly. This solution may be given 
to cattle in the following-sized doses : 

Calves 3^ to 4 ounces. 

Yearlings 6 ounces. 

Two-year-olds and over 12 to 16 ounces. 

The doses for sheep are as follows : 

Lambs 3 months old f ounce. 

Lambs 6 months old 1* ounces. 

Sheep 12 months old 2| ounces. 

Sheep 18 months old 3 ounces. 

Sheep 24 months old T 3^ ounces. 

In making up the solution only clear blue crystals of bluestone 

should be used. Bluestone with white patches or crusts should be 

V....V.,.-, -■.■ i -i~f -.WW. rejected. It is especially important 

O ^ (T) - ®6 & ($ that the bluestone and water be accu- 

: : Q ^P Q ££b %& a ,.; rately weighed and measured, and 

^ > -- ®- ' G>"/dSP ; that the size of the dose be graduated 

® b 9 . ^ Q%(^kD&&-: according to the age of the animal. 

^•■''^iriif -^ £> '''^&% : '- : ''ffi ^ ne special value of medicated salts 

" - 90& > *% ^> g> 0} advertised under various trade names 

'^^^^■■■(^i^^ : '^m0 : :^3. as preventives against worms is prob- 

'^M'-^^^^^'^P''^^. lematical. Commonly they contain 

** S^^P®^';J%&\ $>= v little else than ordinary salt, the other 

fig. 22.— Piece of lining of fourth su bstances being in suoh small quan- 

stomach, showing cysts of the en- . ° . 

cysted stomach worm (Ostertagia tlty that their therapeutic ettect IS 

ostertagi). practically negligible. Definite evi- 

dence that they are more efficacious than plain salt is not yet avail- 
able and their use is not recommended. 

THE ENCYSTED STOMACH WORM (OSTERTAGIA OSTERTAGI). 

This parasite is as thick as a fine hair and less than half an inch in 
length. It lives in small cysts in* the wall of the fourth stomach 
(fig. 22) and is also found free in the cavity of the stomach. When 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 



529 



numerous, these parasites cause a thickening of the stomach wall and 
disturb its digestive functions. The symptoms caused by this para- 
site are very similar to those produced by the twisted stomach worm. 
The life history of the encysted stomach worm is not known in detail, 
but it is undoubtedly very much the same as that of the twisted 
stomach worm. The same 
measures as recommended 
above for preventing in- 
fection with the twisted 
stomach worm should be 
used. Medicinal treat- 
ment would seem to be of 
little use, owing to the 
protected position in 
which the parasite occurs. 

INTESTINAL PARASITES. 

TAPEWORMS. 



Two species of tape- 
worms (fig. 23) are known 
•to occur in the small in- 
testine of American cattle. 
They sometimes grow to a 
length of several yards 
and to a breadth of three- 
fourths of an inch. Small 
portions of tapeworms, 
consisting of one or more 
segments, are occasionally 
seen in the droppings of 
infested cattle. The life 
history is not known, but 
the infectious stage is un- 
doubtedly taken in with 
the feed or water, infec- 




Fig. 23.— A tapeworm (Moniezia pianissimo) which 
infests cattle. 



tion being spread by the eggs of the parasite contained in the feces 
of infested animals. The eggs are perhaps swallowed by some small 
creature (an insect, worm, or snail) which acts as an intermediate 
host, and which when accidentally swallowed by a cow while grazing 
or drinking carries with it into her stomach the infectious stage of 
the tapeworm. 

Adult cattle do not seem to suffer much from infestation with 
tapeworms, but in calves these parasites may cause scouring and 
emaciation. 

33071°— 16 34 



530 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Treatment. — Medicinal treatment for tapeworms in cattle is usually 
unsatisfactory, but the bluestone treatment used for stomach worms 
and mentioned above (p. 528) may be tried. Arsenic in doses of \\ to 
3 grains has been claimed to give good results in the treatment of 
calves for tapeworms. 

ROUNDWORMS. 

A large roundworm (Ascaris vitulorum) measuring 6 to 12 inches 
in length, sometimes found in the intestines of cattle, especially 
calves, may cause inflammation and occasionally rupture of the 
intestine. Infection occurs through the swallowing of the eggs of the 
parasite in feed or water which has been contaminated with the feces 
of infested cattle. 

A number of species of small roundworms, varying in size from an 
eighth of an inch to an inch or more in length, occur in the intestines. 
Of these may be mentioned the hookworm (Bunostomum phleboto- 
mum) and the nodular worm {(Esophagostanmm radiatum). The 
former is about an inch long and is found in the small intestine. The 
latter are somewhat smaller and are found in the cecum and large 
intestine. Hookworms, when numerous, may cause anemia and 
other symptoms similar to those caused by stomach worms (see p. 
525). The injury to the mucous lining of the intestine from the bites 
of hookworms may cause severe inflammation, and affords an avenue 
of infection with the germs of various diseases. The adult nodular 
worms apparently do not attack the wall of the intestine, but derive 
their nourishment from the intestinal contents. Several species of 
small, very slender roundworms {Trickostrongylus) , less than a 
quarter of an inch in length, sometimes occur in the small intestine 
and fourth stomach, and a severe gastroenteritis, or inflammation of 
the stomach and intestines, has been attributed to them. 

Nodular disease of the intestine, due to young nodular worms 
which burrow in the intestinal wall during a certain stage in their 
life history, sometimes apparently produces serious effects, particu- 
larly in young cattle, but commonly has little or no perceptible influ- 
ence on the general health. It, however, often renders the intestine 
unfit for use as sausage casings, and as it is widely prevalent among 
cattle the loss from this source is considerable. The greenish or 
yellowish nodules with cheesy contents are frequently mistaken by 
the inexperienced for lesions of tuberculosis. 

The life histories of the various small roundworms occurring in 
the intestines of cattle, so far as they have been worked out, are 
very similar to that of the twisted stomach worm as described on 
page 525. 



ANIMAL PARASITES OP CATTLE. 



531 



Treatment for intestinal roundworms. — The preventive measures 
are similar to those recommende4 in the case of the twisted stomach 
worm (p. 526). Medical treatment is generally not very satisfac- 
tory. Powdered thymol, in doses of 200 grains or more, has been 
recommended, but it often fails to have the desired result. It is 
asserted by one author that 2 or 3 drams of rectified empyreumatic 
oil in a mucilaginous emulsion, followed the next morning with a 
purgative of 1 to 1^ pounds of sulphate of soda, will expel the large 
roundworms {Ascaris vitulorum). 

PROTOZOA. 




Fig. 24. — The com- 
mon liver fluke 
{Fasciola hepat- 
ica ) . 



A number of species of protozoa have been reported as parasites of 
the intestines of cattle. To one species has been attributed a serious 
disease of cattle in Switzerland known aa red dysentery, but so far 
no cases of this disease in American cattle have been reported. 

FLUKES IN LIVER AND LUNGS. 

Two species of flukes occurring in the liver and lungs are known 
to affect cattle in the United States. These parasites are flat, leaf- 
like worms; one of them, the common liver fluke 
(Fasciola hepatica, fig. 24), is less than an inch in 
length, while the other, the large American fluke 
{Fasciola magna, fig. 25) , is considerably larger when 
full grown. In their life history these flukes depend 
on snails as intermediate hosts. At a certain stage 
of development the young flukes leave the snails, 
become encysted on stalks of grass (fig. 26), or fall into drinking 
water, and finally may be swallowed by cattle. Stiles writes as 
follows : 

Flukes may produce a serious, often fatal, disease, more especially in younger 
animals. The symptoms are somewhat similar to those produced by worms in 

the stomach. The first symp- 
^^^ toms are generally overlooked, 

the disease not attracting at- 
tention until the appetite is 
diminished ; rumination be- 
comes irregular, the animals 
become hidebound, and the 
coat dull and staring. The 
staring coat is due to the 
contraction of the muscles of 
the hair follicles. The visible mucous membranes become pale, eyes become 
dull, there is running at the eyes, and the animal gradually becomes emaciated. 
As the disease advances the milk supply is lessened, fever appears, there is 
generally great thirst, but the appetite almost ceases ; edematous swellings 
appear on the belly, breast, etc. ; diarrhea at first alternates with constipation, 




Pig. 25. — The large American fluke (Fasciola magna). 



532 



DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



but finally becomes continuous. The disease lasts from two to five months, 
when the most extreme cases succumb. 

Most of the German cattle are said to be infested with liver flukes, but even 
when a large number are present the nourishment of the cattle is not dis- 
turbed. Thickening of the gall ducts, so that a so-called " Medusa's head " 
forms on the surface of the liver toward the stomach, appears in even well- 
nourished animals; even in cases of a cirrhosis of the liver it is seldom that 
any effect upon the cattle's health can be noticed, and so long as a portion of 
the liver tissue about twice the size of the fist remains intact, the nourish- 
ment of the animal may be comparatively good. It is rare that one sees a 
generalized edema in slaughtered cattle as a result of fluke invasion, and even 
in the heaviest infections of young cattle only emaciation is noticed. 

Treatment. — Medicinal treatment is unsatisfactory. The disease may be 
prevented to a considerable extent by giving animals plenty of salt, and by 

introducing carp, frogs, and 
toads into infected dis- 
tricts ; these animals de- 
stroy the young stages of 
the parasite and feed upon 
the snails which serve as 
intermediate hosts. 

The drainage of wet 
pastures and the avoid- 
ance of swampy lands 
for grazing purposes 
are important measures 
in the prevention of 
fluke diseases. 

Eailliet and others 
have recently recom- 
mended the application 
of lime to fluky pas- 
tures, having discovered that very weak solutions are destructive not 
only to fluke embryos but to snails. This application is to be made 
during the summer months at the rate of about 500 to 1,000 pounds 
of lime per acre. The same authors also recommend for the treat- 
ment of fluke disease extract of male fern in doses of 5 grams to 
each 30 kilograms of body weight. Apparently, however, satisfac- 
tory results from this treatment are not always obtained. 

TAPEWORM CYSTS OF LIVER AND OTHER VISCERA. 

Three kinds of tapeworm cysts are found in the viscera of cattle. 
One of these {Multiceps multiceps, or Comurus cerebralis) will be 
further referred to in the discussion of gid (p. 533). All these are 
the intermediate stages of tapeworms, which live when mature in the 
intestines of dogs, wolves, and other canines. The eggs of the tape- 
worms are scattered over the fields in the droppings of infested clogs 
or wolves, and when swallowed in food or water by cattle hatch out 




Fig. "26. — Portion of grass stalk bearing three encysted 
cercarise of the common liver fluke (Fasciola hcpatica). 
Enlarged. 



ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 



533 



and the embryos migrate to the liver, mesentery, lungs, brain, or 
other organs, where they develop into cysts, variously known as 
hydatids, bladder worms, water balls, etc. When organs of cattle 
thus infested are eaten by dogs or wolves the cystic worms are also 
liable to be swallowed and then develop into mature tapeworms. To 
prevent cattle from infection with these parasites stray dogs, wolves, 
and coyotes should be killed wherever found, and dogs too valuable to 
kill should be kept free from tapeworms. As a precaution against 
infection with tapeworms, the viscera of cattle, sheep, or hogs should 
not be fed to dogs unless cooked. 

Hydatids (Echinococcus granulosus) form tumors (fig. 27) of 
varying size (sometimes as large as 6 inches in diameter) in the 




Fig. 2". — Hydatids (Echinococcus granulosus) in portion of hos's liver. 



liver, lungs, and other organs. Their contents are liquid, resembling 
water. The presence of these parasites can not be detected in the 
living animal and there is no medicinal treatment for them. Or- 
gans containing hydatids should be destroyed by burning in order to 
prevent their being eaten by dogs. This is especially important, as 
dogs infested with the tapeworm stage of this parasite are a menace 
to human beings on account of the danger of infecting them with 
hydatids, Avhich develop in man if the eggs of the hydatid tapeworm 
are swallowed. 

Thin-necked bladder worms (Taenia hydatigena, fig. 28) are most 
commonly found attached to the mesentery and omentum. There is 
no medicinal treatment. 

Gid. — Bladder worms (Multlceps multiceps, or Ccenurus cerebralis) , 
which are occasionallv found in the brain of cattle and cause gid, 



534 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

" turnsick," or " staggers," deserve mention, as they are rather com- 
mon among sheep in the northwest. As already alluded to, these 
worms are the intermediate stage of a tapeworm found in dogs, and 
their life history and the means of preventing infection have been 
briefly discussed above (see p. 532). 

Cattle harboring this parasite show symptoms indicating an affec- 
tion of the brain, walking or turning in circles, dizziness, uneven 
gait, impaired vision, etc. 

Treatment consists in trephining the skull and removing the para- 
site, an operation which requires a skillful operator and is frequently 
unsuccessful. Unless the parasite is removed affected cattle almost 
invariably die. 

TAPEWORM CYSTS IN THE MUSCLES, BEEF MEASLES. 1 

Small tapeworm cysts {Taenia saginata), about the size of a pea, 
found in the muscles of cattle are the larvae of the common tapeworm 
of man. Cattle become infected from feed or 
water which has been contaminated by the feces 
of persons harboring the adult tapeworms, and 
human beings in turn become infected by eating 
raw or rare beef infested with the larval stage 
(measly beef). 

To prevent cattle from becoming infested with 
this parasite care should be taken that human 
feces are not placed where they will contaminate 
Fl ?; 2f-™ n - n « ck f the feed or drinking water. 

bladder worm (Tcenia ° t 

hydatigena) from ab- This parasite is very common in cattle in the 
£ nal ° aVity ° f a United States, at least 1 per cent being infested. 
As a result considerable loss is entailed through 
condemnations of beef carcasses by meat inspectors, because of the 
presence of tapeworm cysts. All this loss could be avoided and 
the danger of tapeworm infestation in human beings from this 
source could be removed by the observance of proper precautions in 
disposing of human excreta. At the same time much sickness and 
many deaths from diseases (hookworm, typhoid fever, etc.) caused by 
soil pollution would be prevented, and farm life would be rendered 
much safer than under the poor sanitary conditions which are re- 
sponsible for the high percentage of tapeworm cysts among cattle 
in the United States. 

THREAD WORMS IN THE ABDOMINAL CAVITY. 

Thread worms (Setaria Idbiato-papillosa) 2 to 4 inches long are 
frequently found in the abdominal cavity. They seem to cause little 
or no trouble. The embryos produced by these worms enter the 

1 For further information consult Bureau of Animal Industry Circular 214. 







ANIMAL PARASITES OF CATTLE. 535 

blood vessels. According to Noe, they are spread from one animal 
to another by stable flies (see p. 511). The roundworms found oc- 
casionally in the anterior chamber of the eye (see p. 536) are per- 
haps immature forms of this species which have reached this location 
during their migration. 

LUNG WORMS. 

Lung worms (Dictyocaulus viviparus, fig. 29) in cattle are thread- 
like worms 2 to 4 inches long, found in the bronchial tubes and 
producing a condition known as verminous bronchitis. The life 
history of the parasite is not fully known, but infection is evidently 
derived through the medium of pastures where infested cattle have 
grazed. In the later stages of the disease the cattle cough, especially 
at night, Young cattle are more seriously affected than old animals. 

Treatment for lung worms. — Various treatments have been advo- 
cated for lung worms, including fumigating with different substances 
and injections of remedies into the 
trachea by means of a large hypo- 
dermic syringe or by a special 
spraying apparatus, but none has 
been very successful from a prac- 
tical standpoint. About all that 
can be done is to feed affected ani- fig. 29.— Lung worm unetyoeauim rin- 
mals well and protect them from JETTi * c f a ™*; ^iT.f^^T' 

1 ural size or male (above) and female. 

exposure, removing them from the 

pasture and keeping them in dry yards or stables maintained in a 

cleanly, sanitary condition. 

The methods of prevention in general are similar to those described 
under the discussion of the twisted stomach worm (p. 526). 

PARASITES OF THE BLOOD. 

Certain flukes {Schistosoma bovis and related species) which live 
in the blood vessels (the large veins) of cattle in tropical and sub- 
tropical countries cause bloody urine and diarrhea, the feces being 
mixed with blood. These parasites have not yet been discovered in 
the United States, although the natural conditions are such in some 
parts of the country that they are liable to become established if 
introduced. 

The embryos of Setaria labiato-papillosa (p. 534) which occur in 
the blood may be found by microscopical examination. They ap- 
parently cause no trouble. 

The organism which causes Texas fever is a protozoan parasite 
(Piroplasma bigeminum) of microscopic size, which lives in the blood 



536 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

and attacks the red blood corpuscles. For a discussion of this para- 
site and the disease which it produces see page 473 of this volume. 

Other parasites which live in the blood cause serious diseases known 
as surra and nagana (p. 508) , but as yet neither of these diseases has 
gained a foothold in the United States. 

PARASITES OF THE EYE. 

Small roundworms, one-third to four-fifths of an inch in length, 
may occur in the ducts of the lacrimal glands. Several species all 
belonging to the same genus (Thelazia) are known. They some- 
times escape from their usual location and may be found on the sur- 
face of the eyeball beneath the lids, or even in the eyeball. It has 
been supposed by some writers that the worms seen in the interior 
of the eyeball (" snakes in the eye ") are immature stages of Setaria 
labiato-papillosa (see p. 534) which have gone astray from the normal 
course of their migration, but the correctness of this supposition is 
uncertain. 

Worms in the eyes and lacrimal ducts may cause inflammation, in 
which case the eyes may be syringed with an antiseptic, such as a 
weak solution of coal-tar stock dip, and iodoform ointment applied 
if the condition is severe. 

When worms are present in the eyeball itself, their removal de- 
pends upon surgical treatment, usually not advisable, as the worms in 
that location either cause but little trouble or disappear without 
treatment. 






MYCOTIC STOMATITIS OF CATTLE. 

By John R. Mohler, V. M. D., 
Assistant Chief, Bureau of Animal Industry. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Numerous letters have been received by this bureau in recent years 
relative to the existence of a disease affecting the mouths and feet of 
cattle in certain Eastern and Central Western States. Later reports 
indicate that the malady has made its appearance in the Southwest, 
where it has caused much alarm among the stockmen owing to its 
similarity to the foot-and-mouth disease of Europe. The disease, 
which is to be discussed under the name of mycotic stomatitis, has 
been carefully investigated by this department on various occasions, 
and it is with the view of giving the results of these clinical investi- 
gations as well as to assert its noninfectiousness and to differentiate 
it from the virulent foot-and-mouth disease, which it so closely simu- 
lates, that this article is prepared. 

NAME AND SYNONYMS. 

The name stomatitis signifies that there is present in the affected 
animals an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth. 
This inflammation, which quickly develops into ulcers, is one of the 
principal and most frequently observed lesions. Mycotic stomatitis 
refers to that form of stomatitis which results from eating food con- 
taining irritant fungi. Thus the name not only suggests the cause of 
the disease, but also indicates the location of the earliest and most 
prominent symptoms. Other names which have been applied to this 
disease by different writers are sporadic aphtha?; aphthous stoma- 
titis ; sore mouth of cattle ; sore tongue ; benign, simple, or noninfec- 
tious foot-and-mouth disease; mycotic aphthous stomatitis; and 
sporadic stomatitis aphthosa. 

CHARACTER OF THE DISEASE. 

Mycotic stomatitis is a sporadic, or noninfectious, disease which 
affects cattle of all ages that are on pasture, but more especially 
milch cows. It is characterized by inflammation and ulceration of 
the mucous membrane of the mouth, producing salivation and in- 
appetence, and secondarily affecting the feet, which become sore and 
swollen. Superficial erosions of the skin, particularly of the muzzle 

537 



538 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

and of the teats and udders of cows, may also be present, with some 
elevation of temperature and emaciation. 

CAUSE. 

This disease, as its name indicates, results from the eating of forage 
containing fungi or molds. It is probable that more than one fungus 
is involved in the production of this disease, but no particular species 
has been definitely proved to be the causative factor. Several at- 
tempts have been made by the writer to determine the exact cause 
and also to transmit the disease to other animals by direct inocula- 
tion, but with negative results. Suspicion, however, has been directed 
by various observers to the Uromyces and the red and black rusts 
that occur on clovers. These fungi cause very severe irritation of the 
lining membrane of the mouth, producing sometimes a catarrhal, at 
other times an aphthous, and occasionally an ulcerous stomatitis. 
The fungus of rape, etc. {Polydesnms excitiosus) , is very irritating to 
the mouths and feet of cattle, causing severe inflammation and in 
some instances producing symptoms that have been mistaken for 
foot-and-mouth disease. The fungi (Penicillium and Puccinia) 
found on grasses have also been credited with the production of 
stomatitis. The fact that this disease disappears from a locality at 
a certain time and reappears at irregular intervals would suggest the 
probability that certain climatic conditions were essential for the 
propagation of the causative fungi, since it is well known that the 
malady becomes prevalent after a hot, dry period has been followed 
by rain, thus furnishing the requirements necessary for the luxuriant 
development of molds and fungi. Owing to this fact the disease is 
observed in one locality during one season and in an entirely dif- 
ferent section another year, but reappears in the former center when 
favorable conditions prevail. In this way the affection has occurred 
at irregular intervals in certain sections of both the United States 
and Canada. 

SYMPTOMS AND LESIONS. 

Among the first symptoms observed in mycotic stomatitis are 
inability to eat, suspension of rumination, frequent movements of 
the lips with the formation of froth on their margins, and in some 
cases a dribbling of saliva from the mouth. There is a desire to eat, 
and frequent attempts to take food are made, but prehension is very 
difficult. If, however, feed is placed on the back of the tongue, it is 
readily masticated and swallowed. If the mouth is examined at this 
time, it will be found red and hot, and exceptionally small blisters 
will be seen, which, however, quickly become eroded and develop into 
active ulcers varying in size from one-eighth to 1 inch in diameter. 
Where several ulcers have coalesced a large and irregularly indented 



MYCOTIC STOMATITIS. 539 

patch is formed. These erosions are most frequently found on the 
gums around the incisor teeth, on the dental pad, inside the lips, 
and on the tip of the tongue, but they also occur on the cheeks, inter- 
dental space, and dorsum of the tongue. The ulcers have a hemor- 
rhagic border, a depressed suppurating surface, and contain a brown- 
ish or yellowish colored debris, which is soon replaced by granulation 
tissue. As a result of this sloughing of the tissues and the retention 
of food in the mouth, a very offensive odor is exhaled. The muzzle 
becomes dry and parched in appearance, which condition is shortly 
followed by erosions and exfoliations of the superficial layer of the 
skin. Adherent brownish crusts and scabs form over the parts, and 
similar lesions are seen around the nostrils and external surface of 
the lips. 

In some cases there are associated with these alterations a slight 
swelling and painfulness in the region of the pasterns, at times 
affecting the forefeet, at other times the hind feet, and occasionally 
all four feet. In a few cases the swelling may extend above the fet- 
lock, but it has never been observed above the knee or hock. The 
skin around the coronet may occasionally beoome fissured and the 
thin skin in the cleft of the foot eroded and suppurated, but without 
the formation of vesicles. As a result of these feet lesions, the 
affected animal may assume a position with its back arched and the 
limbs propped under the body as in a case of founder, and will 
manifest much pain and lameness in walking. If it lies down, the 
animal shows reluctance in getting up, and although manifesting no 
inclination to move about, when forced to do so there is more or 
less stiffness and a tendency to kick or shake the foot as if to dislodge 
a foreign body from between the claws. 

In some outbreaks the milch cows have slight superficial erosions 
on the teats which at times extend to the udder. The cracks in the 
skin are filled with serum and form brownish-colored scabs. The 
teats become tender and the milk secretion diminishes ; in some cases 
it disappears. A similar tendency toward the formation of fissures 
and scabs on the skin of the neck and shoulders has manifested itself 
in a recent outbreak in Texas, and this feature was likewise notice- 
able in the disease when it occurred in Maryland and Virginia in 
1889. 

In mild cases only the mouth lesions may be observed, or these 
alterations may be associated with one or more of the other above- 
described symptoms, but in severe cases, where there is a generalized 
mycotic intoxication, one animal may show all these alterations. 
When the disease is well developed the general appearance of the 
animal is one of great lassitude, and it either stands off by itself 
with hind feet drawn under the body and its forefeet extended, or it 
assumes a recumbent position. Owing to the inability to eat and to 



540 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

the general systematic disturbance present, the animal loses flesh very 
rapidly and becomes greatly emaciated in the latter stages of the dis- 
ease. The temperature and pulse are somewhat increased, the former 
2 or 3 degrees, the latter to from 75 to 90 beats per minute. The 
fever is not lasting, and these symptoms are soon modified. The 
animal has an anxious look, and in a few cases there is a gastrointes- 
tinal irritation, the feces being thin, of a dark color, and of an offen- 
sive odor. 

PROGNOSIS AND MORTALITY. 

Mycotic stomatitis is not a serious disease, and in uncomplicated 
cases recoveries soon follow the removal of the cause and the appli- 
cation of the indicated remedies. In such cases complete restoration 
may take place within one week. In mild outbreaks a large percent- 
age of the animals will recover without treatment, but that the dis- 
ease is fatal is shown by the fact that animals which develop an 
aggravated form of the affection succumb if not treated. In such 
animals death occurs in 6 or 8 days, but the mortality in the serious 
outbreaks thus far investigated has been less than 0.5 per cent. The 
course of this disease is irregular and runs from 7 to 15 days, the 
average case covering a period of about 10 days. 

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. 

FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE. 

In examining a case of mycotic stomatitis it is important not to 
mistake it for foot-and-mouth disease, which has appeared in this 
country on six occasions only. This may be easily accomplished by 
taking into consideration the fact that in the contagious foot-and- 
mouth disease there is a rapid infection of the entire herd, as well as 
of any hogs and sheep that may be on the premises. It is also readily 
transmitted to neighboring herds by the spread of the infection from 
diseased animals, but it never occurs spontaneously. The character- 
istic lesion of foot-and-mouth disease is the appearance of vesicles 
containing serous fluid in the mouth and upon the udder, teats, heels, 
and coronary bands of the affected animals. Drooling is profuse, 
and there is a peculiar smacking sound made by sucking the affected 
lips. 

Mycotic stomatitis occurs sporadically on widely separated farms, 
affecting only a few animals in each herd, and the lesions produced 
consist of erosions without the typical vesicular formations of foot- 
and-mouth disease. The failure of the vesicles, if any appear, to 
spread extensively in the mouth, the absence of these blisters on 
other portions of the body — notably the teats and udder, and char- 
acteristically the feet — together with the absence of infection in the 
herd, and the inability to transmit the disease to calves by inocula- 






MYCOTIC STOMATITIS. 541 

tion, distinguish between this affection and foot-and-mouth disease. 
The erosions of the mouth are not so extensive and they heal more 
rapidly in mycotic stomatitis. The swelling of the feet and stiffness 
of the animal are also more marked in mycotic stomatitis. 

ERGOTISM. 

The lesions resulting from ergotism may be differentiated from 
those of mycotic stomatitis by the lack of ulcerative eruptions in the 
mouth and by the location of the lesions at the tips of the ears, end of 
the tail, or upon the lower part of the legs, usually below the knees or 
hocks. The lesions of ergotism do not take the form of ulcers or 
festers, but the end of the limb affected is diseased " in toto " and the 
eruption extends entirely around the limbs, followed soon afterwards 
by a distinct line of demarcation between the healthy skin above and 
the diseased below. The absence of suppurating sores between the 
claws and on the mucous membrane of the mouth, the knowledge that 
the lesion upon the limb in question extends uninterruptedly around 
it, and the presence of ergotized seeds in the hay or grain fed the 
animals should point conclusively to a diagnosis of ergotism. 

FOUL FOOT. 

In foul foot, or ground itch, of cattle, the inflammation of the skin 
and toes usually affects but one foot. It begins as a superficial 
inflammation followed by sloughing, ulceration, and the formation of 
fistulous tracts which may involve the tendons, bones, and joints. 
The mouth remains unaffected, and the presence of the disease may 
be traced to filth and poor drainage. 

NECROTIC STOMATITIS. 

In necrotic stomatitis (calf diphtheria) there is a formation of 
yellowish cheesy patches in the mouth without any lesions of the 
feet or udder. It affects sucking calves chief! 3% and is caused by the 
Bacillus necrophorus. 

TREATMENT. 

The treatment of mycotic stomatitis should consist in first remov- 
ing the herd of cattle from the pasture in which they have been 
running. The affected animals should, if it is possible, be brought 
to the barn or corral and fed on soft, nutritious food, such as bran 
mashes, ground feed, and gruels. A bucket of clear, cool water should 
be kept constantly in the manger, so that the animal may drink 
or rinse the mouth at its pleasure; and it will be found beneficial 
to dissolve 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of borax or 1 tablespoonful of 
potassium chlorate in each of the first two buckets of water taken 



542 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

during the day. If the animals are gentle enough to be handled, 
the mouth should be swabbed out daily with antiseptic washes, such 
as a 2 per cent solution of carbolic acid or a 1 per cent solution 
of lysol or of permanganate of potassium, or 1 part of hydrogen 
peroxid to 2 parts of water. This should be followed by astringents, 
such as one-half tablespoonf ul of alum, borax, or chlorate of potassium 
placed on the tongue. Probably a more satisfactory method of ad- 
ministering the antiseptic treatment to a large number of animals 
would be to mix thoroughly 2 teaspoonfuls of pure carbolic acid 
every morning in a quart of bran mash and give to each affected 
animal for a period of five days. Range cattle may be more readily 
treated by the use of medicated salt placed in troughs accessible to 
the animals. This salt may be prepared by pouring 4 ounces of 
crude carbolic acid upon 12 quarts of ordinary barrel salt, after 
which they are thoroughly mixed. The lesions of the feet should 
be treated with a 2 per cent solution of carbolic acid, while the 
fissures and other lesions of the skin will be benefited by the 
application of carbolized vaseline or zinc ointment. If the ani- 
mals are treated in this manner and carefully fed, the disease will 
rapidly disappear. 



INDEX. 



Abdomen — Page. 

dropsy affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 47 

inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment 222 

of calf, dropsy, description, and treatment 178-179 

wounds, causes, symptoms, and treatment 43 

Abdominal cavity, kinds of parasites affecting 533 

Abortion — 

contagious — 

description and causes 165 

prevention and treatment 168 

noncontagious — 

causes 163 

treatment 165 

Abscess — 

bacteria causing 235 

ear, treatment 353 

lung, description 97 

navel, cause and treatment 247 

orbital and periorbital, symptoms and treatment 350 

Abscesses — 

danger in castration of cattle 298 

treatment 293 

Absorbents, description 73 

Achorion schonleinii, fungus causing Tinea favosa 330 

Acids — 

mineral, poisoning, description and treatment 58 

poisoning, description and treatment 58 

vegetable, poisonous, description and treatment 58 

Aconite poisoning, description and treatment 63 

Actinomycosis — 

description and symptoms 438-447 

jawbone, description and treatment 441 

lungs' 441 

prevention and treatment 443-447 

relation to public bealth 445 

Adenoma, description 308 

Administration of medicines, chapter by Leonard Pearson 7-11 

Afterbirth, retention, causes, symptoms, and treatment 218 

Air tubes, lung, parasites affecting, description and treatment 535 

Air under the skin, description, symptoms, and treatment 332 

Albumin, urine, description and treatment 119 

Albuminuria, description and treatment 119 

Alkalies, poisoning, description and treatment 59 

Amaurosis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 346 

Anaphrodisia, cause, prevention, and treatment 147 

Anasarca of the skin, causes, symptoms, and treatment 328 

Anesthesia, uses in operations 2S7 

Aneurism, description 83 

Angioma tumor, description 308 

Animal Industry Bureau, experiments against hemorrhagic septicemia — 399 

Animal parasites of cattle, chapter by B. H. Ransom 510-536 

Animal products, poisonous, description and treatment -. 69 

Anthrax — 

cause, symptoms, treatment, etc 447-456 

human, description 456 

serum, relation to blackleg 456 

symptomatic, description, cause, treatment, etc 457-462 

treatment by use of serum 453 

543 



544 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Page. 

Aphtha, calf, description and treatment 261 

Aphtha parasite (Saccharomyces albicans), cause 261 

Aphthous fever. See Foot-and-mouth disease. 

Aphthous stomatitis, reference 537 

Apoplexy — ■ 

cerebral, description and treatment 104 

parturient, description, symptoms, and treatment 224 

Appetite — 

depraved, description, causes and treatment 28 

loss, symptom of foot-and-mouth disease 381 

Aqueous hunio • of eye, description 339 

Argentina, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Arsenic poisoning, description, symptoms, and treatment 54 

Arsenical dips — 

for destroying cattle ticks 496 

use against screw worms 514 

Arsenical vapor, danger of inhalation in making cattle dip 497 

Arteries — 

and veins, wounds, description and treatment SI 

obstruction, description and treatment 83 

Ascaris vitulorum, intestinal roundworm, description and treatment 530 

Ascites — 

causes, symptoms, and treatment 47 

description and treatment 178 

Asepsis in surgical operations 287 

Aseptic periostitis, description and treatment 264 

Asphyxia electrica, symptoms and treatment 109 

Atkinson, V. T. — 

chapter on " Bones : Diseases and accidents " 262-2S6 

chapter on " Poisons and poisoning " 51-70 

Atrophy, description 80, 126 

Auscultation, definition 89 

Austria-Hungary, foot-and-mouth disease 3S4 

Bacillus — 

cyanogenes, causing blue milk 240 

tuberculosis, causing tuberculosis 405 

Back, sprain, causes and treatment 268 

Bacteria — 

causing abscess 235 

definition 357 

Bacterium bovis scpticum, causing hemorrhagic septicemia 395 

Balkan countries, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Ball- 
eye, description 33S 

hair, in stomach, description 29 

Balls, use in administering medicines 8 

Bee stings, description and treatment 69 

Beef measles, discussion and management 534 

Belgium, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Benign tumors, description 304 

Big jaw. See Actinomycosis. 
Black quarter. See Blackleg. 
Blackleg- 
description, cause and treatment 457, 462 

serum, relation to anthrax 456 

vaccine, note on distribution by Animal Industry Bureau 461 

Bladder — 

eversion, description, and treatment 216 

or rectum, full, as obstruction to parturition 176 

palsy of neck, cause and treatment 128 

paralysis, causes and treatment 126 

rupture, symptoms 216 

spasms, description and treatment 126 

stone, symptoms and treatment 140 



INDEX. 545 

Bladderwornis — Page- 
affecting brain, description and treatment 533 

thin-necked, description and treatment 533 

Bleeding — 

description and treatment 81 

lungs, description and treatment 97 

navel, cause and treatment 246 

nose, cause and treatment 91 

womb, description, symptoms, and treatment 212 

Blisters, water, symptoms and treatment 326 

Bloating, causes, symptoms, and treatment 22 

Blood- 
clots on walls of vagina, description and treatment 218 

coagulated, under vaginal walls after calving, treatment 177 

description and influence of food on 73 

flukes (Schistosoma bovis), note 535 

parasites affecting, different kinds 535 

protozoa affecting 510-530 

vessels — 

functions 72 

heart, lymphatics, diseases, chapter by W. H. Harbaugh 71-S4 

Bloodsuckers affecting cattle, description and treatment 524 

Bloody milk, cause and treatment 239 

Bloody urine — 

caused by blood flukes 535 

description, symptoms, and treatment 117 

Blue disease, cause 251 

Blue lice (Haematopinus eurysternus and H. vitali), description 517 

Blue milk, cause and treatment 240 

Boils, causes, symptoms, and treatment 320 

Bones — 

broken, description of kinds and treatment 269-2S0 

diseases and accidents, chapter by V. T. Atkinson 202-280 

dislocations, description and treatment 280 

face, fracture, description, and treatment 275 

luxations, description and treatment 280 

manner of nourishment 262 

number and description 262 

shape, classes 263 

Bony tumor, description and treatment 312 

Boophilus annulatus, Texas fever tick. See Margaropus annulatus. 

Bots affecting cattle, description and treatment 515 

Bovine tuberculosis and public health 428 

Bowel hernia, description and treatment 38 

Bowels — 

diseases affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 34-43 

obstruction resulting from invagination, symptoms and treatment 35 

twisting and knotting, symptoms, post-mortem appearance, and 

treatment 35 

Brain — 

and its membranes, inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment- 101 

bladderworms affecting, treatment 533 

coenurus cerebralis (Multiceps tnulticeps) affecting, treatment 533 

concussion, cause, symptoms, and treatment 105 

congestion, description and treatment 104 

description 99 

tumors, description 110 

Brazil, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Breach — 

navel, symptoms and treatment 250 

uterus, cause and treatment 160 

Breathing, suspended in young calves, discussion 245 

Bronchial tubes, parasites affecting 535 

33071°— 16 35 



546 DISEASES OP CATTLE. 

Bronchitis — Page. 

description, symptoms, and treatment 92 

verminous — 

description, symptoms, treatment, and prevention 98 

parasite (Strongylus micrurus), cause 98 

Brush, report of foot-and-mouth disease in man 393 

Buffalo gnats, description and remedy 513 

Bull, ringing, method 289 

Bulls, susceptibility to sarcoptic mange 523 

Burns and scalds, causes and treatment 331 

Calculi — 

classification 135 

forms in different situations 136 

in prepuce or sheath, treatment 142 

renal, description and treatment 137 

urethral, description and treatment 137 

urinary — 

classification 135 

description and causes 128 

effect of different feeds 129 

Calculus — 

blocking teats, treatment 241 

px-evention 139 

vesical or urethral, symptoms and treatment 140 

Calf- 
attention necessary at birth 245 

diphtheria, description, symptoms, and treatment 462-467 

dropsy — 

general, cause and treatment 178 

of abdomen, description and treatment 178 

monstrosities, descriptions, causes, and treatment 180-182 

muscles, rigid contraction, cause and treatment 179 

slinking, description 163 

swelling, caused by gas, treatment 179 

tumors affecting, description and treatment 179 

Calves — 

congenital imperfections, kinds 261 

indigestion affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 32 

newborn, acute scouring, description, prevention, and treatment 259 

pyemic and septicemic inflammation, symptoms and treatment 249 

young — 

aphtha, or thrush, affecting, description and treatment 231 

constipation affecting, cause and treatment 251 

diseases affecting, chapter by James Law 245-261 

rickets affecting, description and treatment 261 

ulcers in mouth, causes, symptoms, and treatment 462 

Calving — 

dropping and palsy following, description and treatment 231 

retarded by nervousness 177 

symptoms 171 

Canada, source of foot-and-mouth infection 384 

Cancer, description and treatment 313 

Capsule, eye, description 340 

Capsules, use in administering medicines 8 

Carbolic-acid poisoning, description and treatment 60 

Carbon dioxid, formation in preparing cattle dip— 496 

Carbuncle, description 456 

Carcinoma, description and treatment 313 

Caries, teeth, description 16 

Carpus, fracture, description and treatment 279 

Curtilage, ear, necrosis affecting 355 

Caruncula lacrimalis of eye, description 342 

Casein concretions blocking teats, cause and treatment 241 

Casting the withers, cause and treatment 213 






INDEX. 547 

Castration — Page. 

dangers and care 298-299 

of female, description of operation 299 

of male, description of operation 297 

Cataract, causes, symptoms, and treatment 346 

Catarrh — 

description, symptoms, and treatment 90, 91 

gastro-intestinal, causes, symptoms, and treatment 29,32 

malignant, description, symptoms, and treatment 467-470 

nasal, description, symptoms, and treatment 90 

Catarrhal fever, infectious, description, symptoms, and treatment 467-470 

Cats, ear ticks on, note 523 

Cattle- 
animal parasites affecting, chapter by B. H. Ransom 510-536 

dip, preparation and use 496-497 

dose of vaccine against anthrax 455 

drenching, care of lungs 528 

farcy, description and treatment 509 

infected with anthrax, description 450 

infection with sarcoptic mange 523 

infectious diseases, chapter by John R. Mohler 356-509 

infestation with tapeworm 534 

injury by use of petroleum against ticks 494 

loss of blood by inoculations, limits of safety 500 

northern, immunization against Texas fever, manner 498 

parasitic diseases, prevention 510 

plague. See Rinderpest. 

protection from flies, formulas for mixtures 510-511 

rabies affecting, description, symptoms, etc 400-404 

southern, injury by ticks 482 

tick, Margaropus annulatus, as carrier of Texas fever 478 

ticks — 

injurious effects of and losses caused by 479-4S4 

methods of ridding cattle of 4S4-49S 

tumors affecting, chapter by John R. Mohler 301-318 

Cerebral apoplexy, description and treatment 104 

Cerebrospinal division, description 99 

Chapped teats, cause and treatment 241 

Charbon. See Anthrax. 

Chest, dropsy affecting, description and treatment 97 

Children, infection with foot-and-mouth disease 392 

China, foot-and-mouth disease 3S4 

Choking, symptoms and treatment 20 

Chorioptic mange, location and treatment 522 

Choroid coat of the eye, description 340 

Chrondroma tumor, description and treatment 312 

Chronic tympanities, cause and treatment 25 

Coal-oil poisoning, description and treatment 59 

Cocnurus cercbralis (Multiceps multiceps) affecting brain, treatment 533 

Coital exanthema, description, symptoms, and treatment 399 

Cold in the head, description, symptoms, and treatment i 90 

Colic, causes, symptoms, and treatment 31 

Concussion of the brain, cause, symptoms, and treatment in.". 

Congenital imperfections in calves, kinds 261 

Congestion — 

and inflammation of testicles, description and treatment 150 

brain, description and treatment 104 

liver, description, symptoms, and treatment 44 

spinal cord, description, symptoms, and treatment ^ 108 

udder, description and treatment 231 

Conjunctivitis — 

causes, symptoms, and treatment 342 

infectious catarrhal, symptoms, treatment and prevention 343 

Connecticut, foot-and-mouth disease 386 



548 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Constipation — Page- 
cause and treatment 36 

young calves, cause and treatment 1_ 251 

Contagious — 
abortion — 

causes 163-170 

prevention and treatment 168 

diseases, disinfection of premises 361 

inflammation of the udder, description, prevention, and treatment 235 

mammitis, description, prevention, and treatment 235 

pleuropneumonia — 

cause, incubation, and symptoms 367 

definition and history 364 

post-mortem appearance 371 

prevention and treatment 375 

scouring, acute, in newborn calves, description, prevention, and treat- 
ment 259 

Contused or lacerated wounds, description and treatment 296 

Contusion of lips, wounds, and snake bites of mouth, symptoms and treat- 
ment 14 

Copper poisoning, description and treatment 56 

Cornea — 

eye, description 339 

ulcers, cause, symptoms, and treatment 345 

Corneal dermatoma, description and treatment 347 

Corneitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 343 

Cough, examination 87 

Cow, pregnant, hygiene 158 

Cowpox, description, symptoms, and treatment 238, 436 

Cows, milch, protection from flies 511 

Cramps of hind limbs during pregnancy, cause 160 

Cranium, fracture, description and treatment 276 

Creeps, description, symptoms, and treatment 265 

Cresol — 

compound solution, composition and use 364 

use in foot-and-mouth disease 391 

Croupous enteritis, description, symptoms, and treatment 35 

Crude petroleum — 

danger to cattle in use against ticks 494 

dip for destroying cattle ticks 498 

Cud, loss, description 27 

Cuts, barbed-wire, description and treatment 297 

Cyanosis, cause 81, 251 

Cysts — 

dental, description and treatment 316 

dermoid — 

and sebaceous, description and treatment 328 

description and treatment 316 

description 305 

extravasation, description 315 

mucous, description and treatment 317 

parasitic, description 315 

proliferation, description and treatment 317 

serous, description and treatment 316 

Dairy business, injury by foot-and-mouth disease 382 

Dandruff, causes, symptoms, and treatment 327 

Deformities, hoof, causes and treatment 336 

Dehorning, description 290 

Delaware, foot-and-mouth disease 3S6 

Demodectic mange, description and treatment 523 

Denmark, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Dental cysts, description and treatment 316 

Dermis, description 318 

Dermoid cysts, description and treatment 316, 328 

Diabetes — - 

insipidus, cause and treatment 116 

mellitus, description 121 



index. 549 

Diarrhea — Page. 

and dysentery, causes, symptoms, and treatment 34 

calf, causes, symptoms, and treatment , 32 

causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment 252-259 

See also Gastro-intestinal catarrh. 
Dickson, Wllliam, and William H. Lowe, chapter on " Surgical opera- 
tions " 2S7-300 

Digestive organs, diseases affecting, chapter by A. J. Murray 12-50 

Dilatation and hypertrophy of heart, description 80 

Diphtheria, calf, description, cause, treatment, etc 4G2-467 

Dipping — 

bath, cattle, temperature 521 

remedy for screwworms 514 

Dips — 

arsenical, protection of hands in use 497 

cattle, for ticks 494_49S 

mange and scab 520, 521 

Disinfection, house, methods 361 

Dislocation, eyeball, treatment 351. 

Dislocations, bones, description and treatment 280 

Diuresis, causes and treatment 116 

Dogs, ear tick 523 

Drainage, usefulness in prevention of fluke diseases : 532 

Drenching tube, use in eradicating worms 527 

Dropping, following calving, description and treatment 231 

Dropsy — - 

abdomen, causes, symptoms, and treatment 47 

abdomen of calf, description and treatment 178 

chest, description and treatment 97 

general, of calf, cause and treatment 17S 

hind limbs and between thighs, during pregnancy, cause 160 

membranes of fetus, description and treatment 160 

navel, description and treatment 251 

womb, description and treatment 160 

Dysentery — 

and diarrhea, causes, symptoms, and treatment 34 

chronic bacterial, description, treatment, etc 506 

red, note 531 

See also Gastro-intestinal catarrh. 

Dyspepsia, causes, symptoms, and treatment 29 

Ear tick, spinose, presence in cattle, horses, dogs, etc 523 

Ears — 

abscess affecting, treatment 353 

cartilage, necrosis affecting 355 

diseases affecting, chapter by M. R. Trumbower 353-355 

enchondroma, description and treatment 355 

foreign bodies lodging in, symptoms and treatment 354 

frostbite, symptoms and treatment 355 

fungoid growths, cause and treatment 354 

internal inflammation, symptoms and treatment 353 

lacerations, cause and treatment 355 

scurfy, cause and treatment 354 

ticks affecting, treatment 523 

Echinococcus granulosus, hydatid, description 533 

Ectropion of the eyelid, description and treatment 348 

Eczema — 

description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 323 

epizootic, reference 381 

Edema — 

causes, symptoms, and treatment 328 

malignant, description, symptoms, and treatment 470-472 

Elephantiasis, description 328 

Emaciation, symptom of foot-and-mouth disease 381 

Emphysema, description and treatment 96, 332 

Enchondroma, ear, description and treatment 355 

Encysted stomach worm, description and treatment - 528 

Endocarditis, description and treatment 79 



550 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Page. 

Enernata, uses and methods 9 

Enteritis — 

causes, symptoms, post-mortem appearance, and treatment 33 

croupous, description, symptoms, and treatment 33 

simple. See Gastro-enteritis. 

Entropion, eyelid, description and treatment 348 

Epidermis, description 318 

Epilepsy, description, cause, and treatment 105 

Epistaxis, cause and treatment 91 

Epizootic aphtha, reference 381 

Ergotism — 

and mycotic stomatitis, differentiation 541 

description and treatment 67 

Eruption, vesicular, of genital organs, description, symptoms, and treat- 
ment 399 

Erythema, description, causes, and treatment 321 

Eversion — 

bladder, description and treatment 216 

eyelid, description and treatment 348 

womb, cause and treatment 213 

Extra-uterine gestation, description and treatment ! 161 

Extravasation cysts, description 315 

Eye — 

and its appendages, diseases affecting, chapter by M. R. Trum- 

bower 338-352 

aqueous humor, description 339 

capsule, description 340 

caruncula, lacrimalis affecting 342 

choroid coat, description 340 

cornea — 

description 339 

ulcers affecting, cause, symptoms, and treatment 345 

description 338 

foreign bodies penetrating, treatment 349 

lens, description 340 

muscles, description 341 

parasites affecting, treament 347, 535 

puncta lacrimalia, description 342 

retina, description 340 

roundworms affecting, treatment 535 

sclerotic membrane, description 339 

vitreous humor, description 340 

Eyeball — 

description 338 

dislocation, cause and treatment 351 

hairy tumor affecting, description and treatment 347 

Eyelashes, inversion, treatment 348 

Eyelids — • 

description 341 

ectropion affecting, description and treatment 348 

entropion, description and treatment 348 

eversion, description and treatment 348 

inversion, description and treatment 348 

laceration, cause and treatment 349 

tumors affecting, description and treatment 348 

Face bones, fracture, description and treatment 275 

Farcy, cattle, description and treatment 509 

Fasciola hepatica, description 531 

Fasciola magna, description 531 

Fatty degeneration, heart, description ^ 80 

Feed, character, analyses, effect on milk 254-256 

Feeding- 
character, effect on digestive organs 12 

value as remedy for stomach worms 526-527 



INDEX. 551 

Page. 

" Feed-lot " method of freeing cattle and pastures from ticks 492-495 

Fetlock- 
fracture below, treatment 280 

sprain, causes and treatment 267 

Fetus — 

developing outside womb, description and treatment 161 

membranes, dropsy affecting, description and treatment 160 

prolonged retention, description and treatment 162 

Fever — 

milk, description, symptoms, and treatment 224-235 

parturition, description, symptoms, and treatment 224 

southern, splenetic, or Texas. See Texas fever. 
Fibroma — 

interdigital, description and treatment 336 

tumor, description and treatment 309 

Fibrous periostitis, description and treatment 264 

Filaria cervina, worm found in the eye 347 

Filaria labiato-papillosa, parasitic roundworm of cattle 535 

Filaria oculi, description and treatment 347 

Fissure of the wall of hoof, description and treatment 336 

Fistula, milk, description and treatment 243 

Flies — 

injurious to cattle 510-513 

larval, note 512 

Flooding from womb, description and treatment 212 

Fluke disease, control by use of lime 532 

Flukes, prevention by drainage 530 

Fly- 
Spanish, poison, description and treatment 70 

stable, breeding places 511 

Fly preventives, injury to cattle by poisoning 511 

Flytrap, use against stable flies 511 

Fluke, disease of cattle 531 

Flukes, liver and lungs, description 531 

Foods, character, effect on digestive organs 12 

Foot — 

diseases affecting, chapter by M. R. Trumbower 333-337 

foul, causes, symptoms, and treatment 334 

soreness, description and treatment 333 

Foot rot, causes, symptoms, and treatment 334 

Foot-and-mouth disease — 

benign, simple, or noninfectious 537 

danger to man 392-393 

description, cause, symptoms, etc 381-393 

diagnosis 389-390 

eradication by slaughter, efficacy 392 

incubation period _" 382 

losses other than by death of animal 3S2 

mortality 3S2, 389 

occurrence in various countries of world 3S3-384 

prevention and eradication 390-392 

similarity to mycotic stomatitis 540 

symptoms 381,387-389 

symptoms in man 692 

United States, outbreaks 384—387 

Forage, insects on, description of poisonous effect 70 

Formaldehyde gas, liberation by use of permanganate-^ 363 

Foul in foot, causes, symptoms, and treatment 334* 

Founder, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 333 

Fractures — 

below hock and fetlock, description and treatment 280 

compound, comminuted, and complicated 269 

description of different kinds, and treatment 269-280 

face bones, description and treatment 275 

general symptoms and treatment 270, 271 

hip point, causes and treatment 278 



552 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Fractures — Continued. Page. 

horns, description and treatment 275 

limbs, description and appliances for treatment 279-280 

lower jaw, cause and treatment 276 

metacarpus and metatarsus, description and treatment 280 

pelvis, description and treatment 176, 277 

ribs, cause and treatment 279 

special, descriptions and treatment 275 

spinal column, description and treatment 277 

verterbra, description and treatment 277 

France, foot-and-mouth disease 383 

Froesch, note on destruction of foot-and-mouth infection 393 

Frostbites — 

ears, symptoms and treatment 355 

treatment 332 

Fungi, poisonous, description of poisoning 1 68 

Fungoid growth of the ear, cause and treatment 354 

Fungus nematodes — 

cause and treatment 351 

description 314 

Furunculus, causes, symptoms, and treatment 326 

Ganglionic division of the nervous system 101 

Gangrene, danger in castration of cattle 298 

Gangrenous septicemia, symptoms and treatment 470 

Garget, description and treatment 231 

Gas — 

cause of swelling in calf, treatment 179 

under the skin, symptoms and treatment 332 

Gastro-enteritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 33 

Gastro-intestinal catarrh, causes, symptoms, and treatment 29, 32 

Generative organs — 

diseases, chapter by James Law 145-212 

discussion 145 

Genital organs, vesicular eruption affecting, description, symptoms, and 

treatment 399 

Germany, foot-and-mouth disease 383-384 

Gestation, extra-uterine, description and treatment 161 

Grid, parasite of sheep and cattle 533 

Glands, skin, location and use 319 

Gnats, buffalo, description and remedy 513 

Goiter, cause, description, symptoms, and treatment 308 

Gonorrhea, description and treatment 154 

Gravel — 

description and cause 128 

effect of different feeds 130 

in prepuce or sheath, .treatment 142 

Great Britain, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Grubs, cattle, description 515 

Gullet- 
diseases affecting, description, symptoms, and treatment 17-22 

wounds and injuries, cause and treatment 22 

Gut tie, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 41 

Haematopinus eurysternus and H. vituli, description and treatment 517 

Haemonchus contortus, description and treatment , 525 

Hair balls, cause : ^ 29 

Hair, description 318 

Harbaugh, W. H. — 

chapter on " Diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and lymphatics "_ 71-84 

chapter on " Diseases of the nervous system " 99-110 

Haw, inflammation and enlargement, description and treatment 352 

Health, public, relation of actinomycosis 445 

Heart — 

blood vessels and lymphatics, chapter by W. H. Harbaugh 71-84 

description 71 

dilation and hypertrophy, description 80 



index. 553 

Heart — Continued. Page. 

examination of 75 

fatty degeneration, description 80 

injury by foreign bodies, description, symptoms, and treatment 76 

misplacement, description 81 

palpitation, description 76 

rupture, description 80 

valves, diseases affecting, symptoms and treatment 80 

Heat prostration, symptoms and treatment 106 

Heaves, description and treatment 96 

Heel, ulcerations, causes and treatment 335 

Hemoglobinuria or hematuria, description, symptoms, and treatment 117 

Hematodes, fungus, description 314 

Hemoptysis, description and treatment 97 

Hemorrhage — 

danger in castration of cattle 298 

treatment 81 

Hemorrhagic septicemia, causes, symptoms, etc 395-399 

Hepatitis, symptoms and treatment 45 

Hernia — 

bowel, description and treatment '. 38 

danger in castration of cattle : 298 

peritoneal, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 41 

rennet, description and treatment 38 

rumen, description and cause 37 

stomach, description and treatment 38 

umbilical, description, causes, and treatment 39, 250 

uterus, cause and treatment 160 

ventral, description and causes 37 

Hides, injury by cattle ticks 482 

Hip point, fracture, causes and treatment 278 

Hip sprain, cause and treatment 268 

Hock- 
fracture below, description and treatment 280 

fracture, treatment 279 

Hollow horn, imaginary disease 27 

Hoof- 
deformities, causes and treatment 336 

loss, causes and treatment 334 

split, description and treatment ^ 336 

wall, fissure affecting, description and treatment 336 

wounds and pricks, treatment 336 

Horns, fracture, description and treatment 275 

Horses — 

dose of vaccine against anthrax 455 

ear tick, note 523 

Hoven, causes, symptoms, and treatment 22 

Hydatids — 

and flukes affecting the lungs of animals 531 

description and treatment 531 

Hydrocephalus, description and treatment 177 

Hydrophobia. See Rabies. 

Hydrothorax, description and treatment 97 

Hygiene, pregnant cow 158 

Hygromata, description and treatment 315 

Hyperplasia, reference 301 

Hypertrophy — 

description 126 

heart, with dilation, description 80 

Hypoderma bovis, new warble fly 516 

Eypoderma Ivneata, warble fly, description 515 

Illinois, foot-and-mouth disease 3S6 

Immunization, northern cattle against Texas fever, manner 498 

Impetigo, description, causes, and treatment 325 

Incised wounds, description and treatment 293 

Incontinence, urine, cause and treatment 128 



554 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Page. 

Incubation period of infectious diseases 360 

Indiana, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Indigestion — 

calves, causes, symptoms, and treatment 32, 251 

causes, symptoms, and treatment 26, 29, 31 

Induration — 

tongue. See Actinomycosis. 

womb mouth, description and treatment 174 

Infectious aphtha. See Foot-and-mouth disease. 

Infectious catarrhal conjunctivitis, symptoms, treatment, and prevention- 343 

Infectious catarrhal fever, description, symptoms, and treatment 467-470 

Infectious diseases — 

cattle, chapter by John R. Mohler 356-509 

classification of symptoms and lesions 357 

general discussion 356 

incubation periods 360 

treatment, discussion 360 

Infectious ophthalmia, or infectious catarrhal conjunctivitis 343 

Inflammation — 

brain and its membranes, causes, symptoms, and treatment 101 

contagious, of the udder, description, prevention, and treatment 235 

ear, symptoms and treatment 353 

haw, description and treatment 352 

kidneys, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 121 

liver, symptoms and treatment 45 

mucous rueinbrane of mouth, symptoms and treatment 17 

navel veins, description, symptoms, and treatment 247 

parotid gland, symptoms and treatment 18 

pyemic and septicemic, of joints of calves, symptoms and treatment 249 

sheath and penis from bruising, prevention and treatment 153 

sheath, causes and treatment 151 

spleen, description 45 

testicles, description and treatment 150 

traumatic, of the stomach, cause, symptoms, and treatment 34 

udder, description, symptoms, and treatment 232 

urachus, causes and treatment 246 

urethra, description and treatment 154 

vagina, causes and treatment 221 

veins, description and treatment 81 

womb, causes, symptoms, and treatment 222 

Inflammatory diseases, skin, description, symptoms, and treatment 318-332 

Inhalation of medicines, manner 10 

Inoculation, use against hemorrhagic septicemia 399 

Intercostal muscles, rheumatism affecting, description and treatment — 98 

Interdigital fibroma, description and treatment 336 

Intestinal parasites, description and treatment 529 

Intestines, roundworms affecting, kind and treatment 530 

Intussusception, causes, symptoms, post-mortem appearance, and treat- 
ment 35 

Invagination, cause of obstruction of bowels, symptoms, and treatment — 35 
Inversion — 

eyelashes, treatment 348 

eyelid, description and treatment 348 

Iodin, tincture, use in punctured wounds , 295 

Iowa, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Iris, description 339 

Italy, foot-and-mouth disease 383 

Itch, scab, mites, and mange, description and treatment 518 

Itching, cause and treatment 320 

Japan, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Jaundice, description, symptoms, and treatment 44 

Jaw — 

big, lump, or lumpy. See Actinomycosis. 

lower, fracture, cause and treatment 276 

poverty, caused by twisted wireworms 525 



index. 555 

T i Page. 

Jawbones, actinomycosis affecting, description and treatment 43S-447 

Jensen, formula for protection of cattle from flies 511 

Joint-ill, description, symptoms, and treatment 249 

Kansas, foot-and-mouth disease 3 86 

Kelis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 399 

Kentucky, foot-and-mouth disease " 38g 

Keratitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment " 343 

Kidney — 

ox, description ^g 

parasites affecting, discussion 125 

stone in, description and treatment " 137 

Kidneys — ■ 

inflammation, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 121 

tumors affecting, description 1<> 6 

Knee — 

fracture below, description and treatment 280 

fracture, description and treatment 279 

tumors, description and treatment 315 

Knotting and twisting of bowels, causes, symptoms and treatment 35 

Labor pains before relaxation of passages : 173 

Lacerated wounds, description and treatment 296 

Laceration, eyelid, cause and treatment 349 

Lacerations — 

and ruptures of the vagina, description and treatment 217 

ear, cause and treatment 355 

Lacrimal gland of the eye, description 341 

Lameness, symptom of foot-and-mouth disease 381 

Laminitis, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 333 

Laryngitis, cause and treatment 91 

Laurel poisoning, description and treatment 65 

Law, James — 

chapter on " Diseases following parturition " 212-244 

chapter on " Diseases of the generative organs " 145-212 

chapter on " Diseases of the urinary organs " I 111-144 

chapter on " Diseases of young calves " 245-261 

observation of foot-and-mouth disease in man 393 

Lead poisoning, description, symptoms, and treatment 55 

Leeches in cattle, description and treatment 524 

Lens of the eye, description 340 

Leucorrhea, symptoms and treatment 222 

Lice — ■ 

blue (Haematopinus eurysternus and H. vituli), description and 

treatment 547 

red, description and treatment 518 

Lightning stroke, symptoms and treatment 109 

Limbs, fracture of bones, description 279 

Lime, use in fluke control _ 532 

Lipoma tumor, description and treatment , 312 

Lips, contusions, wounds, and snake bites, symptoms and treatment 14 

Live stock, immunization against anthrax 455-456 

Liver — 

congestion, description, symptoms, and treatment 44 

diseases affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 44-45 

flukes, description and treatment 531 

inflammation affecting, symptoms and treatment 45 

Lockjaw — 

danger in castration of cattle 298 

reference 298 

Loco weed poisoning, description and treatment 67 

Loeffler, note on description of foot-and-mouth infection 393 

Louse, red (Triclwdectes scalaris), description and treatment 518 

Lowe, William H. — 

and William Dickson, chapter on " Surgical operations " 287-300 

chapter on " Noncontagious diseases of organs of respiration " S5-98 

Lump, or lumpy jaw. See Actinomycosis. 



556 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Lung — Page. 

abscess, description ■. 97 

tissue, parasites affecting 531 

Lungs — 

actinomycosis affecting 441 

bleeding from, description and treatment 97 

bronchial tubes, parasites affecting, description and treatment 535 

parasites affecting, note 531 

worms of cattle, description and treatment 535 

Luxations of bones, description and treatment 280 

Lymphatics — 

description 73 

heart, and blood vessels, diseases, chapter by W. H. Harbaugh 71-84 

Malignant — 

catarrh, description, symptoms, and treatment 467-470 

edema, description, symptoms, and treatment 470-472 

pustule, description 456 

tumors, description 304 

Mammitis — 

contagious, description, prevention, and treatment 235 

simple, description, symptoms, and treatment 232 

Man — 

relation to beef measles in cattle 534 

symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease 392 

treatment with anthrax serum 457 

Mange — 

common, description and treatment 518 

itch, scab, mites, description and treatment 518 

psoroptic, description and treatment 519 

sarcoptic, cause and treatment 523 

Manure, breeding place for flies 511 

Margaropus armulatus, Texas fever tick 478 

Maryland, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Massachusetts, foot-and-mouth disease 385, 386 

Measles, beef, discussion and management 534 

Measly beef, description and prevention 534 

Medicines, methods of administration, chapter by Leonard Pearson 7-11 

Membrana nictitans of eye, description 341 

Meninges, number and functions 101 

Mercury poisoning, symptoms and treatment 57 

Metacarpus, fracture, description and treatment 280 

Metatarsus, fracture, description, treatment 280 

Metritis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 222 

Metroperitonitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 222 

Michigan, foot-and-mouth disease 3S6 

Micrococcus prodigiosus, cause of bloody milk 240 

Microorganisms, transmission 359 

Milk- 
absence, cause and treatment 239 

bloody and blue, cause and treatment 239, 240 

diminution, symptom of foot-and-mouth disease 381 

duct — 

closure and thickening of mucous membrane, cause and treat- 
ment 242 

closure by membrane, description and treatment 243 

effect of different feeds, analyses 254-256 

fever, description, symptoms, and treatment 224-235 

fistula, description and treatment '. 243 

pasteurization as guard against foot-and-mouth infection 393 

source of foot-and-mouth disease infection 392 

stringy, cause and treatment 240 

Mineral — 

acid poisoning, description and treatment 58 

poisons, description and kinds 54 

Minnesota, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Misplacement, heart, description 81 



INDEX. 557 

Mites — Page. 

description 519 

mange, itch, scab, description and treatment 518 

Mohler, John It. — 

chapter on " Infectious diseases of cattle " 356-509 

chapter on " Mycotic stomatitis of cattle " 537-542 

chapter on " Tumors affecting cattle " 301-318 

Monstrosities, calf, descriptions, causes, and treatment 180-182 

Montana, foot-and-mouth disease 38G 

Moor-ill, description, symptoms, and treatment 117 

Morphia, poisoning, description and treatment 61 

Mouth- 
diseases affecting, symptoms and treatment 14-17 

inflammation of the mucous membrane, cause, symptoms, and treat- 
ment 17 

sore, characteristic differences from foot-and-mouth disease 3S9-390 

ulcers affecting, in young calves. See Necrotic stomatitis. 

Mucopurulent discharge from passages, symptoms and treatment 222 

Mucous cysts, description and treatment 317 

Mucous membrane — 

of mouth, inflammation, cause, symptoms, and treatment 17 

thickening and closure of milk duct, cause and treatment 242 

Multiccps multiceps (bladderworm), parasite of brain 533 

MntRAY, A. J., chapter on " Diseases of digestive organs " 12-50 

Muscles — 

calf, rigid contraction, cause, and treatment 179 

eye, description 341 

intercostal, rheumatism affecting, description and treatment 9S 

Mycotic stomatitis — 

cattle, chapter by John R. Mohler 537-542 

character, cause, symptoms, lesions, etc 538 

characteristic differences from foot-and-mouth disease 389-390 

differential diagnosis and treatment 540 

prevalence 537 

synonyms 537 

Myocarditis, description, symptoms, and treatment 79 

Myoma tumor, description and treatment 307 

Myxoma tumor, description and treatment 312 

Nagana, description, symptoms, and treatment 508 

Nasal catarrh, description, symptoms, and treatment 90 

Navel- 
abscess affecting, causes and treatment ■ 97 

bleeding, cause, and treatment 246 

breach, symptoms, and treatment 250 

dropsy, description and treatment 251 

string, constricting member of fetus, description 177 

urine discharged through, description and treatment 246 

urine duct, inflammation, cause, and treatment 246 

veins, inflammation, description, causes, and treatment 247 

Necrosis — 

and diseases of cartilage of the ear, cause and treatment 355 

bony orbit, cause and treatment 350 

Necrotic stomatitis — 

characteristic differences from foot-and-mouth disease 389 

description, symptoms, and treatment 462-467 

differentiation from foot-and-mouth disease 389 

Neoformation and neoplasm. See Tumors. 

Nephritis, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 121 

Nerves, description 99-101 

Nervous system, diseases, chapter by W. H. Harbaugh 99-110 

Nervousness, cause of retarding calving 177 

Netherlands, foot-and-mouth disease 3S4 

Nettle rash, description, causes, and treatment 322 

Neurofibroma tumor, description and treatment 308 

New Hampshire, foot-and-mouth disease 3S5, 386 

New Jersey, foot-and-mouth disease 3S6 



558 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Page. 

New York, foot-and-mouth disease 38G 

Nicotin dip, directions for making 521 

Nodular disease of intestines due to hook worms, note 530 

Noncontagious — 
abortion — 

causes 163 

treatment 165 

diseases of organs of respiration, chapter by William H. Lowe 85-98 

foot-and-mouth disease, reference 537 

Norway, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Nose bleeding, cause and treatment 91 

Nymphomania in female, cause and treatment 146 

Obstruction — 

arteries, description and treatment S3 

bowels, resulting from invagination, causes, symptoms, etc 35 

parturition by full bladder or rectum 176 

parturition by masses of fat, cause 176 

Ocsophagostoma radiatum, parasite causing nodular disease, treatment 530 

Ohio, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Oidirum albicans, parasite causing aphtha, or thrush 261 

Operations — 

asepsis, importance of 2S7 

surgical — 

chapter by William Dickson, William H. Lowe 2S7-300 

manner of securing the animals 287 

uses of anesthesia ^ 287 

Ophthalmia — 

simple, causes, symptoms, and treatment 342 

specific, symptoms, treatment, and prevention 343 

Opium poisoning, description and treatment 61 

Orbit- 
bony, necrosis affecting, cause and treatment 350 

fracture, cause and treatment 350 

tumors, cause and treatment 351 

Orbital— 

and periorbital abscess, symptoms and treatment 350 

cavity of the eye, description 340 

Orchitis, description and treatment 150 

Ornithodoros megnmi, ear tick of cattle 523 

Osteitis, description and treatment 263 

Osteoma, description and treatment 312 

Osteomalacia, description, symptoms, and treatment 265 

Osteomyelitis, description and treatment 264 

Ostertagia ostertagi, encysted stomach worm of cattle 528 

Otitis, symptoms and treatment 353 

Otobius magnini, ear tick 523 

Ovariotomy, description of the operation 299 

Ovum, inclosed, description and treatment 179 

Ox warbles and grubs, treatment 516 

Pains, labor, before relaxation of passages 173 

Palpitation of heart, description 76 

Palsy — • 

following calving, description and treatment 231 

of neck of bladder, cause and treatment 128 

Papillary growths and warts on the penis, treatment 154 

Papilloma, description and treatment' 310 

Paralysis — 

bladder, causes and treatment 128 

description 107 

hind parts during pregnancy, cause and treatment 161 

rear parts of body, cause 107 

Paramphistonum cervi, parasite affecting cattle 524 

Paraplegia, symptoms and treatment 108 



INDEX. 559 

Parasites — Page. 

animal, of cattle, chapter by B. H. Ransom 510-536 

blood, kinds 535 

bronchial tubes, description and treatment 535 

ear, kinds and treatment 523 

eye, kinds and treatment 536 

intestinal tract, kinds and treatment 529 

kidney, discussion 125 

lung, kinds 535 

stomach, kinds and treatment 524 

Parasitic — 

cysts, description 315 

diseases of the skin, description and treatment 330 

Parotid gland, inflammation, cause, symptoms, and treatment 18 

Parotitis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 18 

Parturient — 

apoplexy, description, symptoms, and treatment 224 

collapse, description, symptoms, and treatment 224 

fever, description, symptoms, and treatment 224 

Parturition — 

difficult, suggestions for assisting 172 

diseases following, chapter by James Law 212-244 

obstacles, causes , 172 

Pasteurization, value in check of foot-and-mouth infection 393 

Pastures, how to free from ticks 488 

Paunch, distention with food, description and treatment 26 

Pearson, Leonard, chapter on " Administration of medicines " 7-11 

Pelvis — ■ 

fracture, description and treatment 277 

narrow, fracture, cause of difficult parturition 176 

Pemphigus, symptoms and treatment 326 

Penis — 

inflammation from bruising, prevention and treatment 153 

ulcers affecting, cause and treatment 155 

warts and papillary growths, treatment 154 

wounds, cause and treatment 154 

Pennsylvania, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Percussion method of examination 90 

Pericarditis, symptoms and treatment 77 

Periorbital and orbital abscess, symptoms and treatment 350 

Periostitis, aseptic, purulent, and fibrous, description and treatment 263 

Peritoneal hernia, description, causes, symptoms, and treatment 41 

Peritoneum, diseases affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 45-47 

Peritonitis — 

causes, symptoms, and treatment ^ 45, 46 

danger in castration of cattle 298 

Permanganate, use in production of formaldehyde gas 363 

Persistent urachus, description and treatment 246 

Pharyngeal polypi, description and treatment 19 

Pharyngitis, symptoms, causes, and treatment 17 

Pharynx — 

diseases, description, symptoms, and treatment 19-22 

tumors affecting, description and treatment 19 

Philippine Islands, foot-and-mouth disease 3S4 

Phlebitis — 

description and treatment 84 

umbilical, description, symptoms, and treatment 247 

Phosphorus poisoning, symptoms and treatment 57 

Pica, description, causes, and treatment 28 

Pink eye. See Ophthalmia. 

Piroplasma bigeminum, protozoan causing Texas fever 535 

Pityriasis, causes, symptoms, and treatment 327 

Plants, poisonous, description of poisoning 63-69 

Pleurisy, description, symptoms, and treatment 93 

Pleurodynia, description and treatment 98 



560 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Pleuropneumonia — Page. 

cause, incubation, and symptoms 367 

definition and history 364 

post-mortem appearance 371 

prevention and treatment 375 

Pneumonia, description, symptoms, and treatment 94 

Pneumothorax, description and treatment 97 

Poison, definition 51 

Poisoning — 

acid, description and treatment 58 

aconite, description and treatment 63 

alkali, description and treatment 59 

animal products, description and treatment 69 

arsenic, description, symptoms, and treatment 54 

carbolic acid, description and treatment 60 

chapter by V. T. Atkinson 51-70 

coal oil, description and treatment 59 

copper, description and treatment 56 

fungi, description 68 

laurel, description and treatment 65 

lead, description, symptoms, and treatment 55 

loco weed, description and treatment 67 

mercury, description, symptoms, and treatment 57 

phosphorus, symptoms and treatment 57 

plant, description 63 

salt and saltpeter, description, symptoms, and treatment 60-61 

sources 51 

strychnin, description and treatment 62 

symptoms and treatment 53 

Poisonous — 

fungi, description 68 

plants, description 63-69 

Poisons — 

chapter by V. T. Atkinson 51-70 

description of action 52 

mineral, descriptions 54-58 

vegetable, uses as medicine 61-69 

Polydesmus excitans, effect on cattle 13 

Polypi — 

description and treatment 311 

pharyngeal, description and treatment 19 

vagina or uterus, description and treatment 155 

Polytrincvum trifoldii, effect on cattle 13 

Polyuria, caxises and treatment 116 

Pork measles, note 534 

Potash, permanganate, use in production of formaldehyde gas 363 

Poverty jaw and scours, caused by twisted wireworm, treatment 525 

Pregnancy — 

champs of hind limbs during, cause 160 

duration 158 

signs 155 

Pregnant cow, hygiene 158 

Prepuce, calculi affecting, treatment 142 

Presentation of fetus, natural 171 

Pricks, hoof, treatment 336 

Probang, use in prevention of choking 21 

Prolapsus vagime, description and treatment 160 

Proliferation cysts, description and treatment 317 

Prostration, heat, symptoms and treatment 106 

Protozoa — 

as intestinal parasites, note 531 

definition 357 

Protrusion, vagina, description and treatment 160 

Pruritis, causes and treatment 320 

Pseiuloplasm. See Tumors. 

Psoroptic mange, description and treatment 519 



INDEX. 561 

Page. 
Pucinnia arundinacea, P. coronata, P. graminis, P. straminis, effect on 

cattle 13 

Pulmonary congestion, treatment 96 

Pulse — 

description 74 

examination , 88 

Puncta lacrimalia of the eye, description 342 

Purulent periostitis, description and treatment 264 

Pustule — 

description, causes, and treatment 325 

malignant, in man, description 456 

Pterygium, description and treatment 347 

Pyemia, causes, symptoms, and treatment 393 

Pyemic inflammation of joints in calves, description, symptoms, and 

treatment 249 

Quarter-ill. See Blackleg. 

Rabies, cattle, description, symptoms, etc 400-404 

Rachitis. See Rickets. 

Ransom, B. H., chapter on " Animal parasites of cattle " 510-536 

Rauschbrand. See Blackleg. 

Rectal injections, uses and methods 9 

Rectum — 

full, obstruction to parturition 176 

method of administering medicines 9 

Red dysentery, note 531 

Red water, description, symptoms, and treatment 117 

Regulations, sanitary, for controlling Texas fever 503 

Renal calculi, description and treatment 137 

Rennet, hernia affecting, description and treatment 38 

Respiration — 

examination 87 

organs, methods of diagnosis 85 

organs, noncontagious diseases affecting, chapter by William H. 

Lowe S5-9S 

Retina, eye, description 340 

Rheumatism — 

articular and muscular, symptoms, prevention, and treatment 285, 286 

intercostal muscles, description and treatment 99 

Rhode Island, foot-and-mouth disease 385, 386 

Ribs, fracture, cause and treatment 279 

Rickets — 

description and treatment 265 

in young calves, description and treatment 261 

Rinderpest, description, cause, symptoms, etc 377-3S1 

Ringing, bull, method 289 

Ringworm, description, symptoms, and treatment 330 

Roundworms — 

description 530 

eye, treatment 536 

intestine, kinds and treatment 530 

stomach, description 525 

Rumen— 

distention with food, description and treatment 22 

hernia, description and cause 37 

Rumenotomy, description . 292 

Rupture — 

bladder, symptoms 216 

danger in castration of cattle 298 

heart, description 80 

womb, cause and treatment 217 

Ruptures — 

and lacerations of the vagina, description and treatment 217-218 

description and cause 37 

33071°— 16 36 



562 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



Russia, foot-and-mouth disease 383 

Saccharomyces albicans, parasite of aphtha, or thrush 261 

Salivation — 

cause, symptoms, and treatment 15 

symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease 381 

Salt, common, poisoning, description, symptoms, and treatment 61 

Saltpeter poisoning, description, symptoms, and treatment 60 

Salts, medicated, doubtful value against worms 528 

Sarcoma tumor, description and treatment 313 

Satyriasis in male, cause and treatment 146 

Scab, mange, itch, description of kinds and treatment 518 

Scabby teats, treatment 241 

Scalds, causes and treatment 331 

Schistosoma b&vis, cause of bloody urine 535 

Scleroderma, description 328 

Sclerotic membrane of eye, description 339 

Scouring — 

acute contagious, in newborn calves, description, prevention, and 

treatment 259 

causes, symptoms, prevention, and treatment 252-261 

Scours — 

and poverty jaw, caused by twisted wireworm, treatment 525 

causes, symptoms, and treatment 32 

Screens, use against flies, remarks 511 

Screwworms — 

affecting animals, description and remedy 514 

control by dipping : 514 

Scurf, causes, symptoms, and treatment 327 

Scurfy ears, cause and treatment 354 

Sebaceous cysts, description and treatment 328 

Sebaceous glands, location 319 

Seborrhea, causes, symptoms, and treatment 327 

Septicemia — 

causes, symptoms, and treatment 393 

gangrenous, description, symptoms, and treatment 470 

hemorrhagic, causes, symptoms, etc 395-399 

hemorrhagic, control by vaccination, etc 399 

Septicemic inflammation of joints in calves, description, symptoms, and 

treatment 249 

Serous cysts, description and treatment 316 

Serum, use against anthrax 453 

Setaria labiato papulosa, embroyo in blood, note 535 

Setoning, description and use 291 

Sheath — 

calculi affecting, treatment 142 

inflammation, causes and treatment 151 

penis, inflammation from bruising, prevention and treatment 153 

Sheep, dose of vaccine against anthrax 453 

Shoulder joint, sprain, causes and treatment 267 

Skeleton, number of bones 262 

Skin- 
description 316 

diseases, chapter by M. R. Trumbower 318-332 

gas or air under, symptoms and treatment 332 

glands, location and use 319 

inflammatory diseases, causes and treatment 321 

parasites affecting, description and treatment 515-522 

secretions and growths, description, causes, and treatment 327-830 

wounds, kinds, description, and treatment 331-332 

Skull, fracture, description and treatment 276 

Slinking, calf, description __ 163 

Snake bites, description, symptoms, and treatment 14,69 

Sore mouth — 

characteristic differences from foot-and-mouth disease 3S9-390 

reference 537 



index. 563 

Page. 

Sore throat, cause arid treatment 17, 91 

Sore tongue, reference 537 

Soreness, foot, description and treatment 333 

Southern cattle fever. See Texas fever. 

Spanish-fly poisoning, description and treatment 70 

Spasm of the neck of the bladder, description and treatment 126 

Spavin, description and treatment- . 282 

Spaying, description of operation 299 

Spinal column, fracture, description and treatment 277 

Spinal cord — 

congestion, description, symptom, and treatment 108 

. description 100 

injuries, description 107 

Spleen — 

diseases, causes, symptoms, and treatment 44-45 

inflammation, description 45 

Splenetic fever. See Texas fever. 

Splenitis, description 45 

Split hoof, description and treatment 336 

Sporadic — 

aphthae, reference 537 

stomatitis aphthosa, reference 537 

Sprain — 

fetlock, causes and treatment 267 

hip, cause and treatment 268 

shoulder joint, causes and treatment 267 

Sprains, description and treatment 266 

Squinting, description 347 

Stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans) , affecting cattle 511 

Stabling, value against stomach worms 526-527 

Staggers, causes, symptoms, and treatment 101, 534 

Staphylococcus pyogenes aureus and S. pyogenes citreus, bacteria of ab- 
scess 235 

Staphyloma, description, symptoms, and treatment 346 

Sterility, causes . 149 

Stings — 

venomous. See Snake bites. 

wasps and bees, description and treatment 69 

Stomach — 

diseases affecting, causes, symptoms, and treatment 22-34 

fourth, affected with hernia, description and treatment 38 

hair balls in 29 

parasites affecting, treatment 524-529 

roundworms affecting 525 

traumatic inflammation, cause, symptoms, and treatment 34 

worm — 

encysted, description and treatment 528 

sanitary measures for suppression 526-527 

worms, different kinds affecting cattle 525 

Stomatitis — 

cause, symptoms, and treatment 17 

characteristic differences from foot-and-mouth disease 389-390 

mycotic. See Mycotic stomatitis. 

necrotic, description, symptoms, treatment, etc 462-467 

Stomoxys calcitrans affecting cattle 511 

Stone- 
bladder, obstruction to parturition 176 

bladder, symptoms and treatment 140 

description and causes 128 

effect of different feeds 130-132 

kidney, description and treatment 137 

Strabismus, description 347 

Straw, breeding place of stable fly 511 

Streptococcus pyogenes, bacteria of abscess 235 

String, navel, constricting member of fetus, description 177 



564 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Page. 

Stringy milk, cause and treatment 240 

Strongylus micrurus, parasite of verminous bronchitis 98 

Struma, cause, description, symptoms, and treatment 308 

Strychnin poisoning, description and treatment T 62 

Sudorific glands, location and use 319 

Sugar in urine, description 121 

Sunstroke, symptoms and treatment 106 

Suppression, milk, cause and treatment 239 

Surfeit, description, causes, and treatment 322 

Surgery, discussion 287 

Surgical operations — 

asepsis, importance 287 

chapter by William Dickson and William H. Lowe 287-300 

manner of securing the animals during 288 

uses of anethesia 287 

Swamp lands, drainage as measure against fluke disease 532 

Sweat glands, location and use 320 

Sweden, foot-and-mouth disease 38-1 

Swelling of calf with gas, cause and treatment 179 

Switzerland, foot-and-mouth disease 383 

Symptomatic anthrax. See Blackleg. 

Taenia saginata, tapeworm cysts, presence in cattle 534 

Tail, wolf in, imaginary disease 27 

Tapeworm cysts, source of injury to cattle 534 

Tapeworms — 

adult, of small intestine, species and remedy 529 

cysts in muscles of cattle 534 

cysts of liver 532 

Tarsus, fracture, description and treatment 279 

Teats- 
blocked by calculus, treatment 241 

blocked by concretion of casein, cause and treatment 241 

blocked by warty and other growth inside, description and treatment- 242 

chapped, cause and treatment 241 

opening in the side, description and treatment 243 

scabby, treatment 241 

warts affecting, treatment 241 

Teeth- 
caries, description 16 

irregularities, cause and treatment 16 

Temperature — 

how to examine 88 

limits for dipping bath 521 

Test, tuberculin. See Tuberculin test. 

Testicles, congestion and inflammation, description and treatment 150 

Tetanus — 

danger in castration of cattle 298 

reference 403 

Texas fever — 

description, symptoms, prevention, etc 473-506 

immunization of northern cattle 498 

infection carried by the cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus) 478 

injurious effect of ticks 480 

loss occasioned by cattle ticks 481 

methods of eradication 4S5-498 

nature of the disease 474 

period of incubation of ticks 484 

prevention 485 

quarantine regulations 503 

symptoms and pathological changes after death 476-478 

tick eradication, plan of work 505 

Threadworms in abdominal cavity of cattle 534 

Throat, sore, symptoms, causes, and treatment 17 

Thrombosis, description and symptoms ^ 83 



INDEX. 565 

Thrush — Page. 

calf, description and treatment 261 

parasite (Saccharomyces albicans), cause 261 

Ticks- 
cattle, time required to kill 486 

ear 523 

injury to cattle hides 482 

parasites of cattle, note 523 

See also Cattle tick ; Texas fever. 

TiUetia caries in wheat, effect on cattle ^ 13 

Tinea favosa, description, symptoms, and treatment 330 

Tinea tonsurans, description, symptoms, and treatment 330 

Tracheotomy, description 292 

Traumatic inflammation of the stomach, cause, symptoms, and treatment 34 

Trichiasis, treatment 348 

Trichoclcctes scalaris (red louse), description and treatment 518 

Trichoplyton tonsurans, fungus causing Tinea tonsurans-^ 330 

Trtjmboweb, M. R. — 

chapter on " Diseases of the ear " 353-355 

chapter on " Diseases of the eye and its appendages " 33S-352 

chapter on " Diseases of the foot " 333-337 

chapter on " Diseases of the skin " 318-332 

Trypanosoma brucei, cause of nagana, or tsetse-fly disease 508 

Tsetse-fly disease, description, symptoms, and treatment 508 

Tuberculin test — 

description and history 415 

harmless to healthy animals 424 

summary of directions for making 425 

Tuberculosis — 

bovine, and public health 428 

cause and nature of disease 409 

occurrence 405 

statistics of tests in United States 408 

symptoms and diagnosis 414-415 

transmissibility of human and bovine 430 

treatment 426 

Tumor — 

bony, description and treatment 312 

chrondroma, description and treatment 312 

fibroma, description and treatment 309 

hairy, on eyeball, description and treatment 347 

lipoma, description and treatment 312 

sarcoma, description and treatment 313 

Tumors — 

brain, description 110 

calf, description and treatment 179 

cattle, chapter by John R. Mohler 301-317 

definition and description 301 

description 301, 303, 305 

description of kinds 307 

diagnosis 306 

eyelid, description and treatment 348 

general treatment 307 

kidney, description . 126 

malignant and benign, description 304 

orbit, cause and treatment 351 

pharynx, description and treatment 19 

Twisted stomach worms, description and treatment 525-526 

Twisting — 

and knotting of the bowels, causes, symptoms, post-mortem appear- 
ance, and treatment 35 

of the neck of the womb, description and treatment 174 

Tympanites — 

acute, causes, symptoms, and treatment 22 

chronic, causes and treatment 25 



566 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Udder — Page. 

congestion, description and treatment 231 

contagious inflammation affecting, description, prevention, and treat- 
ment 235 

inflammation, description, symptoms, and treatment 232 

Ulceration, heel, causes and treatment 1 335 

Ulcerative stomatitis. See Necrotic stomatitis. 

Ulcers — 

calves. See Necrotic stomatitis. 

cornea, cause, symptoms, and treatment 345 

penis, cause and treatment 155 

Umbilical hernia — 

description, causes, and treatment 39 

symptoms and treatment 250 

Umbilical phlebitis, description, causes, and treatment 247 

Urachus — 

inflammation, causes and treatment 246 

persistent, description and treatment 246 

Ureteral calculi, description and treatment 137 

Urethra, inflammation affecting, description and treatment 154 

Urethral calculus, symptoms and treatment 140 

Urinary calculi — 

classification 136 

description and causes 128, 135 

effect of different feeds 131 

Urinary disorders, symptoms 116 

Urinary organs — 

diseases, chapter by James Law 111-144 

functions 111 

Urine — 

albumin in, description and treatment 119 

amount passed daily 113 

analyses under different rations 112 

bloody, caused by blood flukes 535 

bloody, description, symptoms, and treatment 117 

cow, analysis 112 

discharged through navel, description and treatment 246 

excessive secretion, cause and treatment 116 

incontinence, cause and treatment 128 

ox, analysis 113 

retention, effect, cause, and treatment 126 

sugar in, description 121 

Urticaria, description, causes and treatment 322 

Uruguay, foot-and-mouth disease 384 

Uterus — 

hernia affecting, cause and treatment 160 

polypus affecting, description and treatment 155 

Vaccination, disadvantages in use against anthrax 455 

Vaccine — 

anthrax, care and use 455 

blackleg, free distribution, note 461 

preparation and use against hemorrhagic septicemia 393 

Vagina — 

clots of blood on walls, description and treatment 218 

inflammation, causes and treatment 221 

lacerations and rupture, description and treatment 217 

polypus affecting, description and treatment 155 

Vagince prolapsus, description and treatment 160 

Vaginal walls, affected with coagulated blood after calving, treatment— 177 

Vaginitis, causes and treatment 221 

Valves, heart, diseases affecting, symptoms and treatment 80 

Variola, description, symptoms, and treatment 436 

Vegetable — 

acids, poisonous, description and treatment 58 

poisons — 

note 61 

uses as medicine, description, symptoms, and treatment 61-69 



index. 567 

Veins — Page. 

inflammation, description and treatment 84 

wounds, description and treatment 81 

Venereal desire, diminution or loss, cause, prevention, and treatment 147 

Venereal excess, cause and treatment 146 

Venomous stings. See Snake bites. 

Ventral hernia, description and causes 37 

Verminous bronchitis — 

description, symptoms, and prevention 98 

parasites causing 535 

Vermont, foot-and-mouth disease 385 

Verruca, description, cause, and treatment 329 

Vertebra, fracture, description and treatment 277 

Vesical calculus, symptoms and treatment • 140 

Vesicular eruption of genital organs, description, symptoms, and treat- 

mem> 399 

Vesicular exanthema, symptoms and treatment 399 

Veterinarians, views on foot-and-mouth disease in man 393 

Virginia, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Vitreous humor of the eye, description ; 340 

Vomiting, symptoms, cause, and treatment 27 

Wall, hoof, fissure, description and treatment 336 

Warble fly- 
damages, estimate / 516 

European species, appearance in United States 516 

Warbles — 

description and treatment 515 

penetration of skins of cattle 516 

reference 331 

Warts — 

description, causes, and treatment 310, 329 

penis, treatment 154 

teats, treatment 241 

Washington, foot-and-mouth disease 3S6 

Wasp stings, description and treatment 69 

Water — 

blisters, symptoms and treatment 326 

cold, drinking, a cause of indigestion, symptoms and treatment 31 

head of calf, description and treatment 177 

Weather, relation to occurrence of mycotic stomatitis 390 

Wens, description and treatment 328 

West Virginia, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Wisconsin, foot-and-mouth disease 386 

Withers, casting, cause and treatment 213 

Wolf in the tail, imaginary disease 27 

Womb — 

bleeding from, description, symptoms, and treatment 212 

dropsy, description and treatment 160 

eversion, cause and treatment 213 

fetus developing outside, description and treatment 161 

inflammation, causes, symptoms, and treatment 222 

mouth, induration, description and treatment 174 

rupture, cause and treatment 217 

twisting of neck, description and treatment 174 

Wooden tongue. See Actinomycosis. 

Wood-ill, description, symptoms, and treatment 117 

Worm — 

encysted stomach, description and treatment 528 

eye, description and treatment 347 

Worms — 

bladder, description 533 

lung, of cattle, description and treatment 535 

screw, description and remedies 514 

thread, in abdominal cavity of cattle 534 

twisted stomach, description and treatment 525-526 



568 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 

Wounds — Page. 

abdomen, causes, symptoms, and treatment 43 

arteries and veins, description and ti'eatment 81 

contused and lacerated, description and treatment 296 

contusions of the lips and snake bites of mouth, description and 

treatment 14 

danger of infection from foot-and-mouth disease 392 

drainage, necessity 296 

gullet, description and treatment 22 

healing, treatment and dressing, description 296 

hoof, treatment 336 

incised — 

description and treatment 293 

punctured, and lacerated, description and treatment 293-297 

mouth, snake bites and contusions of lips, treatment 14 

penis, cause and treatment 154 

skin, kinds, description, and treatment 331-332 

treatment, summary of care after dressing 296 

Yellows, description, symptoms, and treatment 44 

Zinc poisoning, description and treatment 57 

o 



28 



